#maybe the professor will defeat kang
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themaglightarchivist · 2 years ago
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@wearewatcher Can't believe Puppet History is now canon in the MCU
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saturnsummer · 4 years ago
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helpless.
han joon hwi does all he can to save kang sol a. kang sol a, for the first time, realises she’s not alone.
ao3 link
notes: this has been manifesting in me ever since i saw the scene of sol a fainting. i’m sorry it’s so long, but i hope the law school fans like it! it’s my first time, but i’m open to request and improvements. do share with your fellow solhwi fans if you like it! any grammar mistakes and all will be taken fully responsible by me.
edit: this is written by @inactiverat , which is MY secondary account. i did not copy this from someone else. both accounts belong to ME. i am republishing this on my primary blog to better manage.
words: 4130 words.
it’s been a terrible day for sol.
forget about a terrible day, it has been a week of horror.
she can’t remember the last time she laid her head on the pillow of her clean sheets and mattress. with her semester test coming on friday, she has spent the entire weekend cramming for her test. she has opted to sleep at her desk for no more than 10 minutes at a time. her eyes sting from the roll-on muscle relief ointment that she rolls on every few hours under her eyes. her head pounds and the only things she has eaten are ramyeon and black coffee. (no sugar, extra shots.)
sol sighs as she fixes another highlighter in her top bun. she’s been staring at the same question for hours. she looks over her desk, hoping to find peace by seeing a sleeping sol b, but only remembers that she went home. her tiger mom’s orders, since “she shouldn’t study with her roommate, who is at the bottom of the cohort.”
sol visibly frowned as she thought of that sentence. she doesn't need to be reminded every minute and second of her life that she’s the worst. that whenever she fails a test, the smarty pants are cheering due to the bell curve. that she barely scrapes through every class. that she blubbers and mutters answers like an idiot in every lecture.
that’s why she works so hard. to show that she doesn't need money or connections to succeed in this school. that a single parented girl, making enough to get by, holding a part time job can be like the rest. for her mom, she tolerated years of violent abuse, yet still being so strong for her children. for dan, who she so desperately misses and wants to find, even though she knows dan may never want to see her. for byeol, the reason why she decided to study law; the only human she loves in this lawless world.
sol knows she’s pushing herself too hard. yeseul made an effort to remind her to sleep via text. bokgi teased her once during a study group after mentioning she looks like a disheveled panda. even professor kim pulled her out of lecture to give her a talk to remind her to eat.
but joon hwi hasn't.
she internally scoffs. she doesn’t expect him to. (what does a second round judicial exam passer want to know about the worst student?) and maybe, she doesn't want him to. she wants to show him she can do it on her own. she can’t count the number of times he helped her with her grades and cases. studying alone without help was the smallest thing she can do to show him her independence.
thus, she found every moment to stay away. well, from him, in particular. she only came to lectures on time, sat at the back (as opposed to next to him) and left immediately. she returns to her dorm to study (ditching study groups with him in it) and only leaves in the odd hours to get drinks and food when she’s absolutely starving. she hears the buzzes and rings from yeseul and joonhwi, but only smiles when they ask about her inactivity. (“it was dead. i must have forgotten to charge it again.”)
she sighs in frustration and stands from her chair, grabbing her phone and keys out to the pantry area. she needed more caffeine, if she was going to survive this night.
what she doesn't expect to see, is han joon hwi, devouring his late night snack of ramyeon at the table. the shuffling of her furry slippers raises his head from his precious bowl.
“you’re still up?” he asks.
it’s too late to turn around and pretend she didn’t see him. so instead, sol just nods silently as opposed to her defensive remarks. joon hwi stops slurping his noodles and sets the bowl aside. preparing to walk to the staircase, his next question freezes sol in her steps.
“why have you been avoiding me?”
his voice is gentle and nowhere near angry. but concerned and fearful, as if he’s done something wrong to upset her. for a moment, sol feels like she’s in her first lecture with professor yang and is left speechless. (only now, there is no where to hide.)
joon hwi wasn’t blind to her actions. he noticed her absence when she didn’t sit next to him in lectures. he noticed that whenever he was there for a study group session, she wouldn’t; but when he would ask the others, they would say she was there for the ones he wasn’t. joon hwi was certain that sol was avoiding him.
and he couldn’t understand why.
until now.
joon hwi’s eyes examine the young woman in front of him. he’s certain that a middle school student could figure this out; kang sol a is overworked. her dark eye circles are prominent, puffy and her bloodshot eyes do nothing but intensify her lack of sleep. he noticed just how pale her lips look, as he walks over to her. how has she gotten skinnier too?
joon hwi’s certain that she’s avoiding him not because of something he said that annoyed her. but because he knows that she doesn’t want him to see her in this state. his eyes soften and heart aches from the amount of effort she's putting in to her tests.
for sol, he knows how much the tests meant. it was like her entire life depended on it. that’s why he always wanted to help her. he didn’t want to see such a talented person fall behind. she has already proven herself worthy with all the cases she has participated in. but joon hwi knows that no matter how many times yeseul or bokgi or him say how smart and talented and how she’s doing great, she will never be satisfied in this cold, competitive prestigious school. she will always think she’s the worst and has no potential.
“sol.” his voice firm and serious. sol swears she felt a chill run down. she mentally braces herself for this conversation that she has tried all means to avoid. only one person dares address her as just ‘sol’.
“when did you last sleep? or eat proper food?” his eyes are serious, yet soft and glassy. his voice is gentle and soothing. she closes her eyes and lets out a silent sigh. she is nowhere the mock court, yet she feels like she has taken the witness stand and the oath. lying is perjury, she hears herself say.
“i’m doing fine. i just need to do well on this test.” she lies through her teeth. well, it’s a half true and a half lie. it’s just up to him to pick out which is the lie and truth. joon hwi isn’t an idiot, and can read her emotions with just a single look. it’s an utter lie.
“i’m getting coffee.” she mutters to herself. it was the whole reason she came out, anyways. her sleeve is caught by him but she yanks it away forcefully. she doesn’t even know why she’s being so harsh and angry to him. all he’s done is just ask how she’s doing.
“you need sleep. not caffeine.” he spins her around by her shoulders, his eyes serious and almost frustrated. she fails to meet his eyes, afraid of falling apart before him.
“joon, just let me be.” she says harshly and pushes his hands off before running to get that extra potent coffee. it was the first time she has ever called him that, and it falls out just as naturally as the word ‘sol’ does out of his. sol doesn’t notice how wet her eyes are until she’s downstairs, grabbing cans of coffee from the vending machine. (pathetic, she thinks, getting teary because of lying to her best friend.)
joon hwi doesn't follow. and sol isn't one bit affected.
not. at. all.
-----
the next time sol sees joon hwi is in the morning. he’s carrying his books and has his backpack slung over his shoulder, leaning against the wall. sol braces herself. she knows joon hwi to be protective and caring. but for him to be waiting at the entrance of their dorm was downright surprising.
sol’s not doing any better. when the caffeine and sugar stopped her from staying late, she resorted to stabbing her hand to keep herself awake. when her hand got too red and bloody, she switched to another spot on her arm. underneath her hoodie is her arm with dried blood and bruises all over. she’s surprised she hasn’t had blood poisoning yet.
sol flashes the most natural smile she can on her face, pretending as if her argument with him did not happen a few hours ago. her head was numb, but hanging on with the ointment she applied at her temples. she needed to act okay. just so he would stop worrying and leave her alone.
“sol.” joon hwi’s voice calls, going forward and grabbing her arm to support her. sol is about to create a joke, laugh it off and pretend everything is okay, hopefully convincing him she’s doing better (even if she’s far from it.). but what she doesn’t anticipate is his hand accidentally squeezing the sore wound of hers,
she hisses as his fingers dig into her wound and he immediately lets go. joon hwi’s eyes well in concern, not knowing what he’s done that caused her so much pain. sol’s eyes meet his, uncertain and afraid, as if a secret has been exposed. she pulls her sleeve down and is almost regretting that when joon hwi gently lifts her arm and lifts her sleeve up slightly to expose her arm and hand.
joon hwi takes her good hand in his and drags her to an empty staircase not far from where they were. joon hwi notes the dried blood on her hand and gives a disapproving sigh. just what was she doing to herself? she draws her hand back and pulls her sleeve down, hiding it away.
“sol, you need to take care of yourself.”
“joon, i’m doing okay, i promise. it’s not a big deal.” her voice upbeat and slightly more energetic. joon hwi is about to call her out from lying, but she flashes a smile. “come on, how can an exam defeat me?”
“i’m going to be late.” she says and runs ahead of him, joining yeseul and yebeom in front. sol feels a gnawing guilt in her heart for lying, but she momentarily forgets about it as yebeom sweeps them into a conversation.
i’m sorry, joon. i really am. but i’m not going to burden you any further.
joon hwi is left, helpless and broken, watching the back of the woman he loves stray further.
-----
it isn’t a secret that joon hwi and sol a are good friends. everyone on campus is always shocked. joon hwi, the school’s top student. sol a, the school’s worst student. everyone would have expected sol b when they heard ‘kang sol’. after all, it made sense, didn’t it? the two best students in school.
but what would be even more shocking is that han joon hwi, second round judicial exam passer, is deep in love with kang sol, the klutz with the top bun.
joon hwi couldn’t deny the joy he felt whenever sol was around. it started with study group and tutoring and messages about school. then it became lunches every moment they could. now, he couldn’t go a day without seeing her, hearing her voice or even a simple text. he can’t remember the moment he started falling for the clumsy woman, but when he realised it, he knew it was too late. he was in, deep.
and that's why he can’t bear to see her suffer. that’s why he spends late nights studying with her even though he doesn't need to. that’s why he insist walking her home, even though he installed the camera. (“i miss byeol! that smart cookie...” would always be his excuse.) that’s why he calls her ‘sol’, and he lets her call him ‘joon’, even though no one calls him that anymore.
sol locks herself in her room and buries herself under multiple books after her lectures. sol admits it, she’s tired. she can barely keep herself together and her body is so weak she doesn’t know how she managed to survive the week with less than two hours of sleep combined per day. she can’t remember the last nap she had that lasted more than half an hour.
the guilt from lying is eating her inside. when she closes her eyes, she can only see how hurt joon hwi’s face looks when he saw her arm. taking a shaky breath in, she doesn’t notice the tear running down her cheek. what was she even crying about? lying? hurting her best friend? fatigue? she slams her head against her books, shaking her thoughts out. it’s already 3am, and she doesn’t have much time left.
“kang sol a, you need to do this exam, you hear me? if you want to pass out, do it later on in the afternoon! you have 9 hours till the test.” she scolds herself out loud. stabbing her arm once again, she jerks herself awake and writes her notes over and over. just 9 more hours.
later on in the day, sol finds herself seated next to joon hwi. but she doesn’t notice him. her eyes are too out of focus to concentrate on anything but the paper and pen she holds. when the teaching assistant makes an announcement to start, she races against time and scribbles furiously. her head throbs, but she clings on to her last ounce of sanity keeping herself awake.
-----
she’s worse. joon hwi thinks. much, much worse. her skin is paler than normal and her eyes are fluttery. with her sleeve pulled up slightly, he notices the wound on her hand more bloody than it was. he visibly winces. but it’s nothing to the hurt in his heart. he knows that he should be busy scribbling, but his eyes are slightly glassy and all he can think of is her bloody hand.
all he wants to do is to drag her away. to take her far from this school. he wants to hold her small body in his arms and cradle her as he tends to her wounds. he wants to tuck her into a soft bed and stroke her brown hair. he wants to tell her how he feels, how she’s perfect, smart and beautiful in his eyes. how sol has already had his validation, and no matter how many kang sols there are, he will only have one in his heart.
as the clock leaves a minute or so to the end, sol struggles to keep her head from falling. she just needs to finish the last sentence. her eyes are blurred and her head has never felt more tight and woozy. her ramyeon from 4am is threatening to make an appearance.
“sol, you’re bleeding.” she hears an familiar echoed voice say next to her. instinctively, she brings a hand up to her nose, and wipes it, revealing the bright red blood. she can’t care for her jacket sleeve and carelessly wipes even though her arm aches. just a bit more, she tells herself.
the voices around her blur as she feels hands on her shoulder stopping her. she pushes them off weakly as she finishes the last word on her paper. she lets out a breath of relief and pushes her paper away from her. she’s finally done. she can finally breathe and have that nap. someone calls her name, but she’s too tired to respond.
then her eyes rolls back and she crashes into oblivion.
joon hwi manages to catch her head before it hits the table as she slumps sideways. he scribbles his name on his paper before chucking his paper and hers towards the teaching assistant. yeseul passes a tissue over to joon hwi and shakes her, eyes getting teary. he gently blots her nose, soaking up the blood. the other students leave unbothered, with only their study group crowding around them.
the next hour is a mad rush in joon hwi’s head. they are frantic for an ambulance, but joon hwi just cradles her body in his arms and runs outside. “it’s faster to run.” he says before taking off. she’s light, way too light for her frame, even with the layered coats that she’s wearing. when he reaches the hospital, she’s laid on a stretcher and sent for checks while the nurses ask him to wait for short while outside.
and for the third time, he stands outside, clutching to a bloody tissue, helpless.
-----
joon hwi wants to beat himself over and over. he should have been more forceful with her. heck, he should have done more than just watch silently. he should have sent packed lunches, compiled his notes, offered to stay up with her. even after when he knows how much sol is suffering, he only stood by.
his eyes are teary when he is allowed to see her. she looks so small under those white sheets. the doctor mentions that they had to take her hoodie off to patch her wounds and insert her IV drip. “dehydrated on caffeine, lack of nutrients and fatigue.” the doctor tells him. he only nods as the doctor leaves him.
his group chat is pinging with endless messages and he takes a moment to update them. he sends a quick text that he’ll let them know when she’s awake. his hand brushes the stray hairs out of her eyes and as best as he can, arranges her bangs the way she likes. his touch is as light as a butterfly as he lets his fingers brush pass her bandages.
with the curtain closed around him, joon hwi lets himself crumble silently, as tears run down his face, hands gripping sol’s stained hoodie sleeve. he wishes he could do something then just watch sol lie on the bed. he knows she is okay, but knowing that he could have prevented this worse case scenario from happening makes him upset. he gives himself a few minutes to compose himself before taking his own hoodie and layering it on her.
and for hours, joon hwi sits by her bed in his own thoughts, once again helpless.
-----
when she wakes up, her head pounds worse than the time she got the worse hangover in school. her eyes flutter, drawing the attention of joon hwi. her mind is cloudy as she starts registering the antiseptic smell and bright lights. her eyes come into focus as she turns over to find a pair of warm brown eyes looking at her.
“joon hwi...?” she says with barely any energy.
“you’re awake.” joon hwi lets himself sigh in relief knowing that she’s awake. it’s already 6pm. the others should be on their way over soon. he sends a quick “she’s awake” to the chat and shuts his phone.
“i... finished my exam right?” the words come tumbling out of sol’s mouth.
“that’s all you are thinking of now?” the anger in joon hwi’s voice catches her by surprise. she lowers her hand and avoids his eyes. she’s really done it, then. she’s really pissed him off.
“aren’t you one bit concerned about your health? you could have literally died being so overworked.” his eyes are glassy. realising that he’s frightening her, he lets a sigh out. joon hwi helps her sit up and props a pillow for her. her fingers fiddle with the thin blanket of the bed. there’s no point being strong in front of him now, after all this.
“you know how much every test means to me.” she mutters in a voice so soft, it’s unlike her to be so...small. joon hwi knows under that strong woman with a fiery passion for justice, there’s a vulnerable little girl, insecure and uncertain. but this was the first time, he realised, that she’s opening up herself.
“i’m so tired, joon. i’m so tired of running this stupid rat race that i’ll never win. i’m so sick of putting everything into my grades and not receiving anything back.” her voice so small, staring at the bandages on her hand. was the pain worth it? she’s not sure now.
joon hwi doesn’t say anything back. how could he? this man was born for this system, to bring law back to the country. he can’t compare to her, who spends countless nights studying, while taking care of her family. all he can do is sit by her bed and provide comfort.
“my head hurts. my body aches all over. yet, i can’t seem to do well in my exams. tell me, joon. just how long must i suffer?” his heart is pierced with every word she says. she’s so broken. joon hwi then notices the small pearls of tears dripping down her face.
his hand reaches out and his thumb rubs away her tears on her cheeks. he doesn’t know what prompted this, but sol doesn’t swat his hand away. she lets him as her hand wipes her remaining tears away.
“i’m here now. you can rely on me.” he says softly to her. suddenly, he takes her small hand in his and squeezes it in comfort. sol’s slightly taken aback, but she doesn’t know why she feels fuzzy inside. she feels warm and for the first time, she feels her burden lifted. with much courage, she gives a small smile.
“noona!” they hear a familiar panicked voice ring and they instinctively draw away from each other. if joon hwi’s face is slightly red, sol doesn't notice. sol is swept away into arguing with bokgi with her health and a teary eyed yeseul. even jiho and sol b came, but stood by silently. (jiho notices joon hwi’s flushed cheeks and his too-bright smile that he finally realises is meant for kang sol a. he makes a mental note about it.)
joon hwi leans back as he watches yeseul and bokgi fuss with sol’s health. he suppresses a smile as he looks at sol’s light laugh, knowing how her burdens are slowly fading and lifted. that he’s finally managed to reach out for his soulmate as she sinks further. it was going to be a journey, but joon hwi will drag her, his sol, out from her darkness every time.
i’m going to be there, no matter what, kang sol. you will not fight alone. i will stay with you, even when you think you don’t deserve it. it doesn't matter if you feel the same towards me or not. if i can see you smile and laugh, it’s enough for me. your happiness is all that matters.
because kang sol, i just love you so damm much.
-----
sol doesn’t notice the switch in her jacket. when she leaves about an hour later with her friends to eat jjajangmyeon (extra pickles, she orders.), she assumes the jacket she has by her bed is hers. she doesn't notice the sandalwood and jasmine smell, as opposed to her pine scented fabrics. when joon hwi teases her and she argues back in annoyance, she’s carefree and light.
when joon hwi smiles at her with his sweet smile, she can’t help but think she’s so lucky that she has him, of all people, by her side. her heart skips a beat, and she’s certain that she feels more than friends towards him. that all this time, she has finally fallen for the cheeky and charming joon hwi behind his intellect.
she smiles back, teeth bared and eyes crinkled as they walk back.
after all, who is to stand against her now, when she has him by her side?
joon hwi, thank you for finding me no matter how much i try to hide away. thank you for believing in me when everyone didn’t. i know you like someone else, and it’s okay. because whoever that is will be so damm lucky to have you. to see you smile your charming smile is enough to put me at ease.
because han joon hwi, i admit, i have fallen for you. i’m in love with you.
-----
bonus:
“noona, they like each other, don’t they?” bokgi watches as sol a barks at joon hwi. joon hwi only runs ahead and buries his hands in his hoodie pockets while letting out light laughs and continues teasing.
“oh, they are so whipped for each other.” yeseul triumphantly says as she walks with the rest behind the not-so-obvious lovebirds.
well, this would be an interesting relationship to see unfold.
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sxfik · 4 years ago
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push and pull
part I | part II
read on ao3 • main masterlist • law school masterlist
summary: during a trial, a lawyer must be ready for anything. they should be able to navigate their way through any sudden obstacles or arguments. but through her time at law school, this is the first time her opponent has used kisses as an argument strategy.
or: joon hwi decides it's time to test how far kang sol's concentration can last. you know, to prepare her for the trial. no other reason.
a/n: aaa this was supposed to be peace is not known to man pt. 2 but i just had to write this today, i could not get the scene out of my head. after this will be peace is not known to man chapter 2 because ✨✨ and then a prompt request that was sent in ! this might be shorter than normal but i did leave room for a possible sequel? anyways, i hope you enjoy this <3
Throughout Kang Sol A's time in rigorous classes and with strict professors, there was one thing that was drilled through her head: be prepared for any argument. As she progressed through the ranks, it was clear that students, as well as prosecutors and lawyers, will use anything and everything at their disposal in order to win. Even if it is the lowest or morally dubious argument, if it wins them the case, they will not be afraid to use it.
Kang Sol was never the brightest student in class. She struggled to pick up the concepts as quickly as her peers; she racked her brain every time she needed to name a criminal code from memory. But if there was anything she was good at, it was preparation.
Her biggest mistake her first semester was not having a battle plan and through the minefield that was fighting against Assemblyman Ko, she felt like she was constantly rushed and underprepared. After her 1L, Kang sol took the time every day to make sure she was prepared for anything that would be an obstacle for her. She's always in class with the needed materials already printed out, her course materials pre-read and she takes extensive notes during her lectures, making sure to get even the smallest details. She wrote down anything that could make the exam easier for her. So, during study groups, she was the go-to person for notes and specifics, despite joon hwi, sol B and ji ho's innate abilities to memorize and grasp the concepts. Her contribution was her thoroughness as well as her tenacity. And maybe, that was what made her so essential to her mock trial team.
The annual justice mock trial was just around the corner, and Sol was not going to be underprepared like last time. Joon hwi, Sol B and she poured over their case files, writing their main argument, rebuttal and summary until they were near perfect. For weeks, they'd spent in the library, reading and researching everything they would possibly need during the trial so they could make their main argument as bulletproof as possible. The three of them were going to win this trial, no matter what they had to do.
That preparedness was what found Sol in her current situation, standing in the empty mock trial courtroom, standing at the defendant's side of the table while Joon Hwi had stood across from her, looking over the prosecutor's argument. Her sense of morality was her biggest blessing and her biggest obstacle in Law School. Her belief in right and wrong, and the proper use of the law, made it almost painful for her to argue the other side. But being the wonderful classmate he was, Joon hwi had offered to help her whenever he could, acting as the devil’s advocate.
Han Joon Hwi. Her beloved classmate and next to Ye-Seul, her best friend. He was there for it all: from defending Yangcrates to protecting her sister from Lee Man Ho to defeating Assemblyman Ko. As Kang sol was sinking from her past two semesters at Hanguk law school, he was the one who kept her afloat. Every night she spent at the library, on the verge of exhaustion, he would be there alongside her making sure she took breaks and took care of herself. Without him, she was sure she wouldn't have been able to pull her health up or make it through her first year.
Joon Hwi had always processed his feelings more inwardly, holding everything in and away from everyone as much as possible. During the worst of his grief last year, he would sneak out into the practice fields, running laps until he was exhausted and his breathing ragged. She picked up on what he was doing, when she saw him dip out of the library a little earlier than everyone else. She had snuck out to follow him and watched him as he would run across the fields, until he'd break into pieces on the field. For a boy who had seen her worst, who had helped everyone gain their strength to fight, it wasn't right that he suffered by himself.
So when she saw him declining into the familiar pain, when he was staring into the memorial of his uncle's donation, the man who had meant everything to him, who had died before he could repent for his sins against the law, she sat by him in silence, until he leaned onto her shoulder. If she could, if it was possible, she felt like absorbing all the pain, the regret and the anger he felt inside until he was alright.
She wasn't sure when the lines blurred between them, but her image of him shifted until she was sure he was so much more than a friend. It was as if he had a new tint of color over him, and suddenly, she found herself thinking of him all the time. Now, every time she'd laugh, she'd turn behind her to make sure he was laughing. For every little thing that happened in her life, he was the only one she craved to share it with. Every smile, every little happiness, she wanted to share it with him. Even if she wasn't feeling well, or doing anything exciting, she wanted his presence by her.
Kang Sol was always eloquent, her mind moving at 10 mph and her words even faster. She never ran out of things to say, not until she met him. With Joon Hwi, she had no way of expressing just how much she wanted him in her life, how much gratitude she had for him. He meant so much more than anything she could describe in words so she forced herself to be content with the bits and pieces she could keep in her life.
Kang Sol cleared her throat, gaining joon hwi's attention from the papers and across the room. "Let's get started?" she asked her, looking up from her papers, and up to him as he nodded.
“As the defendant…” he started, his voice echoing in the empty courtroom, voice firm and strong as he delivered the main argument. Watching joon hwi transform into his full prosecutor mode was startling to watch, his casual demeanor changing into confidence. He transformed into something else entirely, his demeanor intense and his voice sharp as a knife. Watching him concentrate and argue was magnetic and with every passing line, she felt pulled towards him. She could feel the nerves build as she watched him, his voice strong and powerful through the room.
He looked up at her, finishing his argument and it felt like the wind was knocked out of her. Sol wasn't sure if it was the fact that she had to present the argument next or if it was his darkened eyes staring into hers, the awareness spreading through her body, that made her forget how to breathe properly. For a moment, the silence enveloped them, the tension between them taut as a bowstring, despite being so far apart from each other.
"Sol?" His voice interrupted the moment as the pressure built in her chest and her throat stagnated. She cleared her throat again, shaking the gaze off her, before starting her argument. As her eyes and her voice followed the words on the paper, her body and mind were somewhere else entirely, every hair on her body aware of his growing presence, his eyes on her. For someone so hesitant to argue against the side she believed in, she was going strong until she made one grave mistake.
She looked up to him for a moment, and he was standing much closer to her now, his eyes molten as he looked up at her, standing in the middle of the courtroom, and her voice wavered to a stop. She didn’t know when Joon Hwi had moved closer, her body too obsessed with the fact that his eyes were on her to ever notice his movements.
He raised his eyebrow, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Why are you stopping, Sol-ah?" he asked, his voice much deeper, heavy and sweet like honey. He stepped closer then, and she looked down to the papers in her hand, his gaze burning her with intensity.
She continued on with her argument, as he stepped closer and closer, until he was right in front of her place behind the defendant's desk. She looked up then, confident in herself not to waver as the words on her paper blurred together into mush. But her mind and her mouth was on autopilot, her voice growing smaller and smaller as she parroted the argument from memory, his proximity throwing her off. He moved closer then, leaning in until his face was just a breath away from her. His hands reached up to her face, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. She felt her mind stutter and her stomach bundle into knots from him being so close that she could see his eyelashes brush against his cheek as he blinded. Her eyes were glued to him, pulled closer and closer, as he laid his finger at her throat, and traced down to the base of her neck.
She shuddered out a breath then, the feel of just a finger on her skin making her face grow warm and red. she struggled to think, to remember what she was doing before his fingers traced up, up, up, towards her jaw. His hands cupped her face, bringing it closer towards him, as his thumb brushed against her cheek.
"I think-" she paused, trying to catch her breath, "I think my argument ends there."
"You think?" he tilted his head slightly, his eyes taunting and teasing.
"Yes," she breathed out, leaning closer and closer, until her lips met his. His lips were firm and reassuring for a short moment, before she pulled away. But their distance didn't last even a second as she surged forward again, kissing him with everything she had. The papers in her hand dropped to the desk, forgotten, as her hands searched for him, finding purchase in his shirt as she pulled him closer.
His hands shifted then, kissing her deeper, as his hands went to untangle her hair from her ponytail, until her hair was loose around her shoulders. His hands tangled in her hair, pushing her closer to him as his tongue brushed against her lip and she gasped, the feel only accelerating the want, the need for him.
Her mind was foggy as he drew away from her lips and down to her jaw, his frantic kisses addicting as he moved down to her neck. Joon hwi tilted her head with the hand tangled in her hair, as he left open-mouthed kisses down her throat, ones that left her panting and gasping, his mouth bruising the delicate skin of her neck.
"Joon hwi-ah," she shuddered out, as he sucked, her breath coming out in soft puffs, a moan growing at the back of her throat.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The loud noise against the door shocked the two out of the moment, as a voice inquired "Is anyone in there?" The two jumped back then, still holding on to each other as Sol looked at Joon hwi, alarm taking over her body.
Annoyance flooded his features, as he looked towards the door, his lips swollen and red from her ministrations.  He was panting, as he looked back at her, his gaze was heavy on her, and for one charged moment, Kang Sol thought of throwing caution to the wind, to pull him back into her. But he stepped back then, away from her desk, and back to his to gather his files. Sol was glued to her feet then, her hands frozen and unable to process what just happened before her rational mind kicked in, and she rushed to gather her files. She ran her hand through her hair, noticing her disheveled state in the mirror, before gathering her hair into a bun and smoothening out her clothes, trying to put on a pretense that she was perfectly okay, it wasn’t like joon hwi had feverishly kissed her until her mind was completely blank or anything.
There was silence between the two as they exited the courtroom through the back entrance, making sure to leave the room as if nothing ever happened. But before they parted, Joon Hwi grabbed her hand, looking into her eyes for a moment as if to say this isn't over, before the parted ways, leaving Sol to process what went on between them, and how she could ask for more, more, more.
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giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 3 years ago
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My understanding of the MCU multiverse (based on Loki, Endgame, and some details from the comics):
1) Per Kang’s explanation, the multiverse is comprised of an infinite number of parallel universes, each one different from each other. This is why we have an Alligator Loki and a Loki who decided their main form would be female (Sylvie). These universes were separate from each other until some of them reached the 31st century, when the various Kangs developed technology that allowed them to travel the multiverse. 
2) Each universe’s timeline can have branches within them which are created by people’s free will. It’s the classic multiverse theory where for every decision we make, there exists an alternate timeline where we made a different choice. So, think of the universes as threads in this gigantic multiverse rope. A branching timeline is a piece of fiber that broke free from one of the main threads. 
3) To simplify points 1 and 2, parallel universes form the main threads in the multiverse rope. The threads are represented by the timelines of each universe. Branching timelines are technically alternate universes that emerged from one of the main universes. Sylvie and 2012 Loki are both branching timeline versions of their main universe counterparts. Obviously, 2012 Loki’s main universe counterpart is MCU Loki. Sylvie’s main universe counterpart remains to be seen, but could be extremely different from the one we’ve been following (maybe she’s a brunette and evil in the Sacred Timeline). 
4) Per Professor Hulk, traveling back in time does not change your future. Instead, it creates a branching timeline that doesn’t affect the main thread. I’d like to think of this as the timestream always wanting to move forward. Going back to the past is technically the time traveler moving forward in time since the only reason why they’re in the past to begin with is because of what they did in the present/future. 
5) Not all trips to the past create nexus events (moments when the timeline branches) and not all nexus events consists of traveling through time. For example, Wanda Maximoff is a walking nexus event due to her ability to change reality. Also, some actions are so insignificant that they wouldn’t create a branch, such as doing anything in an apocalyptic event since everything will be destroyed anyways. 
6) That being said, if the event deviates significantly from what is approved by Kang and the TVA, then the apocalyptic loophole is defeated. We saw this when Loki and Sylvie formed a romance, which went against the concept that Lokis are supposed to be alone. Also, you know...they’re technically both the same person, which would definitely fuck the timeline up. I’d like to think of the lakeside moment between Loki and Sylvie as the timeline glitching out since it couldn’t comprehend how this was happening, thus why this was considered a unique branching timeline. 
7) The TVA, created by Kang, exists outside the multiverse. It’s essentially the time police since they manage the timelines of all the universes in the multiverse. Because they are outside the multiverse, “time works differently” there. 
8) While we’re not sure why the TVA changed after Sylvie killed He Who Remains, there’s plenty of explanations that don’t necessarily involve time travel. Kang the Conqueror could’ve just conquered the TVA and mind-wiped Mobius and B-15. But how could he have done that so quickly? Well...time works differently in the TVA. What was just a few minutes for Loki could’ve been decades or centuries for Mobius and B-15. 
9) Because of the Kang Multiversal War, Kang decided that the best way to restore peace was to regulate the timeline. So what he did was he used Alioth to wipe out the timelines of the enemy Kangs. The surviving universes were reorganized into the “Sacred Timeline”. 
10) To explain the Sacred Timeline, think back to how the multiverse works. The multiverse is a rope in which the threads are the alternate universes that form it. The main timeline threads form the Sacred Timeline and are allowed to exist. The branching timelines that form from each thread are pruned by the TVA. For example, let’s say Sacred Timeline Sylvie grows up to be a supervillain, like a typical Loki. The Sylvie we follow in the show is a variant who decided to be a hero. That goes against the main thread, thus why the TVA got involved. 
11) The TVA didn’t get involved in the Avengers’ time heist since Kang wrote that it should happen. If that wasn’t the case, then the Avengers would’ve been pruned, thus wiping out FATWS, WandaVision, and Far From Home. So because of this, SOME time traveling is allowed, which makes sense since humanity was bound to discover time travel at some point. However, the TVA has already mapped out all the possible trips through time that will ever be made. 
12) While the Avengers were supposed to collect the Infinity Stones, 2012 Loki was not supposed to take the Tesseract. What I think happened here was that Kang wrote that the Avengers were going to fuck up and lose the Tesseract. This doesn’t have to be Loki stealing the Tesseract, it could’ve been something like a SHIELD agent grabbing the Tesseract or Endgame Tony Stark getting noticed and stopped by 2012 Alexander Pierce. So the Avengers still followed the path approved for them in the Sacred Timeline, whereas Loki messed up. Just think about it; 2012 Loki with the Tesseract and roaming free, there’s so much he could’ve done to fuck things up. 
13) The only plot point I’m still on the fence about is Steve Rogers in the past. I truly don’t think Old Man Steve was in the main timeline this whole time since that goes against the rules of time travel established by Hulk. Now, if Steve Rogers really did live with Peggy Carter in an alternate timeline, why didn’t the TVA show up and prune him? Well, this could just be another case of Kang making that a part of the Sacred Timeline in the same way the Avengers’ time heist was part of the Sacred Timeline. Because if it weren’t for Steve marrying Peggy in the past, we wouldn’t have Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Steve going back to the past was a necessary point for the Sacred Timeline to continue.
I feel like I’m missing something but I’ll leave this post at that. 
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thebibliomancer · 4 years ago
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Essential Avengers: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-3
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May, 1984
THE WAR BEGINS
Oof, here we go.
Just gotta replicate the pace that let me do the Hawkeye miniseries in one go, three times in a row.
This is probably too much effort considering its Secret Wars (or more accurately Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars) and maybe there’s not going to be a lot of big changes from this in the Avengers book to really justify it.
But we’re getting Jim Shooter writing the Avengers and his non-consecutive runs were a lot better than I had remembered. And it continues the theme he had from the Avengers book.
It just makes sense in a nonsense way to cover this story.
Last relevant time in Avengers! Acting Completely Normal Vision warned the Avengers about some weird, possibly hostile energy surges right in time for an energy surge to surge energetically in Central Park.
When the Avengers went to investigate, they found a weird structure that looked like a techy coliseum maybe. When some of the Avengers wandered into it (apparently the most bankable Avengers? Sucks to be Vision and Wanda, shrug) they vanished.
In the next issue, after several days, these heroes returned, speaking of a secret war they fought. Weird stuff like She-Hulk taking the Thing’s place on the Fantastic Four happened. In other books, Spidey got a cool new suit.
Would you know more?
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After being raptured in their various books, the missing superheroes all end up on one of those distinctive structures like the one that appeared in Central Park, except IN SPACE.
Its cool that the Avengers will have some company.
We’ve got a terrific 3/4ths of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men (including Lockheed but not including Kitty Pryde for some reason), the Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the totally Articulate Hulk, and hilariously Magneto is also here.
Maybe Secret Wars is just setting up the most awkward moment in the universe, as a prank show.
I think I’d enjoy a big event that turned out to be a prank show at the last minute. The fan discontent. Imagine.
Everyone introduces themselves to each other but mostly the audience and Ben Grimm claims his new codename as the Easter Bunny.
Checking, marvel wiki doesn’t have Easter Bunny listed as one of Ben’s known aliases. Cowards.
Looking up into space, Captain America spots another one of the totally cool constructs and Professor X scans that it contains EEEEEEEVIL.
Specifically Amora the Enchantress, Ultron, the Wrecking Crew, the Absorbing Man, the Lizard, VICTOR VON DOOOOOM, Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Octopus, and Molecule Man. Also, hilariously, Galactus is there.
I’m more convinced than ever that this is a prank show.
You know what would be more hilarious? If Punisher ended up on this construct.
The distribution of villains is kind of odd though. Galactus and Doctor Doom map to the FF. Doctor Octopus and the Lizard to Spider-Man. Ultron, Molecule Man, and Kang are Avengers foes. The Absorbing Man and the Wrecking Crew can go a couple ways but started off as Thor villains. And Amora is usually a Thor villain but supposedly has chilled out around this time or at least is less of a pain than her horny sister.
No X-Men villains. Because Magneto is chilling with them in the generally heroic pod.
Also, all the heroes were raptured from Earth while the villains were grabbed from Earth, from space, from Asgard, resurrected just to be here, or from the FUTURE.
I know marketing is wagging the dog but be consistent, secret organizer who we don’t know yet.
The Thing points out that Magnet is off-sides, re: being in the hero construct, and Magneto is like ‘hey, chill out dudes’ and denies specifically doing murders.
Magneto: “I know not what power transported me here from my secret lair, nor why I was placed among you -- but I find it more appropriate to ask why such as you were judged fit to be placed in my presence!”
Oof.
Burn.
Then the conversation is put on halt on account of the wildest shit any of them have ever seen.
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An entire galaxy vanishes but probably not due to a wave of anti-matter.
Thor: “It’s gone! Gone -- ! Swept away like dust before some unseen, giant hand!”
And then around that last star left unswept, various chunks merge together to form some sort of world, perhaps for battle.
A nice touch for later is that you can definitely see that one of the chunks is a stray chunk of city.
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Some of the villains start squabbling because close quarters, ego, etc.
But Ultron goes hey we’re allowed to fight? I’m the best at that.
Ultron: “I am Ultron! I do not understand the events transpiring! I do not understand how I came to be resurrected... nor how I came to be here! Nothing computes... Insignificant! I am Ultron! My purpose is to slay that which lives. You are all living things, ergo -- Ultron must destroy you!”
With the benefit of having read all the Avengers up to now, I feel that Ultron got up on the wrong side of the resurrection a little.
He’s not not like this but he’s not usually this turned on?
(Then again, maybe he just came back cranky)
DOOM grabs and shakes Molecule Man to do something about this because given enough time even the mighty DOOM might fall before Ultron.
Ultron is famously annoying to defeat, what with that adamantium.
But Molecule Man is in therapy after the Avengers kicked his shit and Tigra yelled at him for being a punk. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
So Doom with all his brilliant genius tells MM a cool way to help out that won’t hurt anyone. Directly.
Using his Molecule Man power over molecules to lightly toss Ultron into Galactus.
So that Galactus goes ‘who the fuck scuffed my boots’ and rips out all the energy in Ultron’s Ultron.
He can do that.
Why wouldn’t he? If he can do that to a planet, he can do it to a pissbaby robot. Even one apparently containing more power than an atom bomb.
Then, because this is one of those plots where things are always thenning, a rift opens in the nothingness of space and a heavenly esque light shines out. A warbly voice commands the action figures beat each other up.
I mean. Its more like
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The Beyonder: “I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!”
But you have to admire that this toy commercial of a comic book is being honest and upfront about being a story where action figures bonk off of each other.
Galactus just hears ‘i can finally shake off these persistent forever munchies’ and flies off to demand prepayment for action figure bonking, with DOOM following behind him.
The Beyonder speaks up warning Galactus that hey, personal space. And that a guy that can effortlessly wipe out a galaxy is gonna have a sweet barrier but Galactus wants the hunger pangs gone and does not listen.
DOOM recognizes a bad idea when he sees one once in a while and hangs back but still gets blown out of space by the force of Galactus bonking off the Beyonder’s barriers.
Captain America: “They were swatted back like flies!”
Professor X: “To the Beyonder, even Galactus is less than a fly, Captain!”
Interruption dealt with, the Beyonder gets the show on the road and sends the two constructs to different parts of the patchwork planet.
The Marvel Super Heroes And Magneto land on some hill and quickly make sure that there are no villains excepting Magneto around.
With Magneto around, the non-X-Men raise an objection to Magneto being around.
He sank a Russian submarine with all hands back in X-Men #150 but he insists that it was self-defense and also they started it.
The X-Men’s position is ‘hey he’s a jerk but he’s our jerk plus we could use his help? The bad guys get GALACTUS, how is that fair?’
Well, they don’t say it but they’re probably thinking it.
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And Hawkeye decides to be a little racist today.
Hawkeye: “You mutants stick together, huh? Well, sticking to a blood-soaked maniac like him doesn’t speak well of you, pal!”
Dude, Clint. Your dear old friend is Wanda.
Wait, why ISN’T Wanda here? Did the toy people really not want her? Fools. Her husband is toyetic as all get out.
Also, point of order, Wolverine? If anyone qualifies as ‘hey he’s a jerk but he’s our jerk!’ here its you.
Johnny “good life choices” Storm decides he’ll just kick Magneto’s ass and end the debate but yeah. Yeah, no. Magneto makes a fool of him.
And then Magneto decides eff this noise and flies off.
With Magneto alienated (good job, guys), Professor X decides this group needs some dang leadership and throws a nomination to Reed Richards. Reed defers since he’s thinking of Sue, left at home and not able to participate in the event.
Wasp, the cool leader of the Avengers, nominates instead Captain America.
Wasp: “We’re off in a strange land, up to our ears in a little secret war that may decide the fate of the universe! Some people don’t know me well! They might have doubts... and there’s no room for that!”
I’m baffled that there’s people here who don’t know Wasp who has been heroing since the 60s but sure. Cap(tain America) probably gets more crossovers and whatever.
I mean, heck, we’re talking a group of heroes consisting of the Avengers (who she already leads), the Fantastic Three (who she’s well acquainted with), and the X-Men (who I’m sure she’s met, although awkwardly its going to later be revealed that Wasp is in the Hellfire Club, but only the sex parts).
And I guess Wolverine’s extensive backstory with Cap doesn’t exist yet because Wolverine isn’t keen on him being the leader, describing him as the least of the assembled heroes. When Hawkeye is right there!
I kid because I love.
Meanwhile, DOOM wakes up adjacent to Galactus ankle and heads to a nearby fortress which he correctly assumes is where the villains have ended up.
Wait, the heroes get beamed down to a random hill while the villains get sent to an advanced fortress with weaponry and we later learn vehicles sold separately?
Kinda stacking the deck, the Beyonder.
You gave the villains GALACTUS and A FORTRESS PLAYSET right out of the gate.
The other villains tell Doom that they’ve (mostly) decided that he should be their leader. But Doom has bigger fish to fry than the prizes that the Beyonder is offering.
In typical Doomesque fashion, he wants the whole kettle. But the other villains what with their petty concerns think he’s too afraid to fight.
So he ditches.
He goes to steal-borrow a spaceship and even though he hates the thought, takes off to go talk to Richards. And then Kang shoots him out of the sky with a GIANT GUN THAT THE VILLAIN FORTRESS ALSO HAS? to stop him from allying with the heroes.
Said (marvel super) heroes see the distant explosion and fly as a group in the most hilarious way possible to check it out.
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God, I have always loved this image. Its squished down into the bottom third of the page but its a delight.
They find Doom sprawled in the crash site, rambling that he’ll only speak to RICHARRRRRDS and about the Beyonder’s power. But Cap offends Doom mightily but offering him a hand up and because Doom sees pity in Cap and RICHARRRRRRDS eyes.
So he blasts the heroes and fucks off.
How very Bakugou of him.
And right as the heroes recover from that, a bunch of villains arrive to get this secret war started.
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I have a fondness for this particular issue. For a long while, issue 1 was the only issue of Secret Wars I could find. So I just had the start of this story with all these non-Spider-Man non-X-Men heroes I barely knew cliffhangering into an attack by villains I really didn’t recognize except for Doc Ock and the Lizard.
It was a window into another side of the Marvel Universe. And for child me, this first issue worked perfectly to intrigue me. All these characters, the very straightforward conflict, all the complications that immediately pop up like Magneto, Galactus, and Doom. Alas, small child resources.
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June, 1984
PRISONERS of War!
The heroes react slowly to the sudden villain attack but thankfully, the villains aren’t working together well. Unthankfully, half of the heroes were already knocked out by the first attack.
Meanwhile, over at Doctor Doom’s side of the plot, he flies back over to where Galactus just in time to see him finally rouse from being slapped down by the Beyonder.
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Galactus floats to his feet and wanders off.
Doom: “He ignored me! As though I were a gnat buzzing at his feet! And so I am... Just as all of us, even Galactus himself, are but insects to the all-powerful Beyonder! Thus, the others have chosen to play the Beyonder’s simple game -- thereby, in effect, paying homage to him. Should I, too, pay homage? Should I worship at the feet of this god-like being -- or chose another path... one only Doom would dare!”
I think anyone that knows Doom knows which option he’s gonna choose.
He heads back to the villain fortress and finds Ultron’s deactivated body and decides Doom can use this.
Meanwhile, back at the first secret battle of the secret war, the heroes rally and start fighting back under Cap(tain America)’s leadership.
She-Hulk even gets a designated girl fight with the only female villain on the villain team.
I’d complain, I would. But at least She-Hulk isn’t the only heroine on the hero side.
She-Hulk: “Hiya! I’m the She-Hulk! You must be the Enchantress! Gee, I’ve heard so much about you -- ! You’re a not-nice lady!”
Enchantress: “A green woman? Is there no end to the varieties of mortals?”
The Enchantress magic slaps She-Hulk away and comments that she could crush She-Hulk physically but its beneath her.
Yeah, all Asgardians have some level of super strength, that’s right. Even the squishy wizards.
But all She-Hulk heard was, ‘someone I can really punch!’
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She-Hulk: “I don’t often duke it out with someone solid enough to really unload on -- and slow enough to let me! Oh, wow! That was, like tubular, you know -- to the max!”
Uh. Jen, are you okay? Did you have a stroke? You don’t usually talk so much in Mario World secret world levels.
I think maybe Jim Shooter didn’t have a good grasp on her. I don’t think he’s ever written for her. And the other heroes mostly don’t vary too much from generic hero speaking patterns. Add some smart for smart characters, add some rude to Wolverine, and so on.
The battle wraps up with Kang, the Enchantress, and the Wrecking Crew captured and the rest of the villains fleeing when the battle didn’t go their way.
Cap sends Storm off to scout for a cool playset that they can use as shelter and she does so, noting that the winds on Battleworld are super easy to control. Like Battleworld was created to create ideal fighting conditions for everyone. Pretty neat, the Beyonder.
Storm finds a particularly rad fortress (”Bigger than fifty-four and a half Pentagons, I’d estimate!” Wow!) and the heroes move in.
I unironically enjoy how toyetic this story is with the fortresses and the vehicles and the weapons. Because I’m almost positive that Mattel barely capitalized on it.
There were only two playsets. Pitiful.
Over in their new headquarters, Reed stashes the captured villains in some form of psychostasis which “works by controlling aggression through brainwave modulation!”
He also sticks Enchantress in a healing pod to address that nasty case of being She-Hulked right in the face. Nothing will salve her ego though.
Captain America: “It’s no wonder that the name Mister Fantastic is renowned for compassion as well as courage! You give added meaning to the word hero, Richards!”
Whenever someone loudly announces that Reed is super compassionate, it makes me feel like they’re overcompensating.
Nobody ever makes note of, say, Captain America’s compassion.
With the prisoners (of war? Is that the whole reason for the title?) accommodated, Cap calls everyone for a meeting in a cool meeting dome he found which has a small waterfall for aesthetic and so everyone has to yell to be heard.
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Wolverine yells that they should mop up the rest of the villains and get this over with.
Not mentioning that in order to “win it” they’d have to kill the villains, which none of the heroes have shown any interest in doing so far.
Cap(tain America) replies that A) planet big and they have no idea where the villains got to. And B) the remaining villains slash antagonists are Galactus, Doctor Doom, Molecule Man, Doctor Octopus, the Wrecker, the Absorbing Man, and Magneto. Not really people you mop up.
In a fun logistics bit, Cap sends out a patrol to make sure the area is secure but he also sends out two additional groups to find  if there are any places in this fortress they can sleep and whether there's any... food.
Makes me imagine a Secret Survival War where the sides have to wrestle over limited resources.
Hours later, the villains that escaped the fracas arrive back at their fortress.
I’m sort of confused here.
Maybe it took so long because they had to make sure they weren’t followed. Or maybe because they didn’t have the sweet tripod vehicle anymore. But think about the flow of events of: everyone beamed down to Battleworld > Doom ditches the villains and gets shot down > heroes investigate and Doom ditches > villains show up for cliffhanger fight.
The villain fortress should be pretty close to where that fight took place. And then the heroes find a nearby fortress of their own so their fortress should be pretty close to the villain fortress. Maybe not in the same neighborhood but surely the same zip code.
Anyway, they find that while they were gone, Doom swanned in and renamed the place the Doombase.
If they have problems with it, they can talk to his Ultron.
Which I’m surprised he didn’t rename Doomtron.
Doom also tells them that he’s in charge now.
Absorbing Man: “Aw! Who gives a hoot! I need a meal an’ sleep! You wanna be in charge, Doom? Okay by me!”
If you think about it, this is just some steps added what the villains wanted all along.
They wanted Doom to be their leader but he told them he had bigger fish to fry and fucked off. Now he’s fucked back on and told them all that he’s their leader. They initially object before reconsidering due to Doomtron but, yeah, its all gone full circle.
Doom is a lot more cordial to Molecule Man though.
Doom: “Molecule Man... uh, Mr. Reece, I believe it is? I trust you were not inconvenienced.”
Molecule Man: “Well, being absolute master of molecules I can just assimilate molecules when I want, so I never have to be hungry, and I can just shoo away dirt molecules, so I’m always nice and clean -- but I am tired!”
Doom: “I have prepared a special chamber for you! I hope you like it!”
Molecule Man: “If not, I can always reconstruct the molecules -- !”
Heh.
Nice to see Jim Shooter able to follow up on the trajectory he sent Molecule Man on.
The rest of the villains head off but Doctor Octopus, the only other brain cell in this group, hangs back to talk to DOOM.
He wants to know what he plans to do about Galactus and then shows Doom on the biggest screen TV that Galactus is standing on a mountain glowing with an awesome power.
Doom just retorts that his plans are for his forces to triumph.
Doctor Octopus: Something tells me he’s got ambitions that dwarf merely triumphing in the Beyonder’s little contest! The question is whether he will destroy us in trying to achieve them -- or immediately after fulfilling them?!
Like I said, the only other brain cell in this group.
Meanwhile, while Magneto secretly sneaks into the hero fortress for Reasons, the heroes have a quiet moment that lets this Secret Wars biz really sink in.
Wasp: “I’d be having tea in my studio now, Jenny... And lunch on my patio tomorrow... This... um... situation we’re in... is kind of... much, you know? I feel there’s just a little thin wall inside me holding back a flood of despair!”
Its a nice touch, if intentional, that Wasp only admits this kind of thing now that she’s passed off the leadership responsibilities to Captain America. Its been a recurring character beat that she’s been keeping these sorts of worries to herself as chairwoman.
Over in another part of the fortress, Cyclops complains that he was right in the middle of his dang honeymoon when he was yanked into this event.
Cyclops: “I don’t know about you, Richards, but more than angry or afraid, I feel cheated! I -- I was on the verge of real happiness...”
Oof. This really sets the tone for his marriage with Madelyne Pryor.
Spider-Man and the Human Torch even have a little conversation.
Spider-Man: “You mean it doesn’t shake you, Torch, being here? What if we don’t get home?”
Human Torch: “The Fantastic Four have been off on space missions a couple of times, Spider-Man! We’ll get back! Believe me!”
I like when they’re friends.
So, I’m not sure what Magneto’s plan actually was. He was going to sabotage the fortress’ fusion generator as a distraction but Spider-Man’s Spider-Sense Spider-Alerts him to shenanigans afoot and he runs off to the power plant while Johnny Storm goes to get the other heroes.
Magneto decides to abandon whatever his plan was and captures Wasp as a consolation prize.
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Gasp, another prisoner of war!
The Thing tries to give chase but inexplicably turns back to normal, smooth skinned Ben Grimm.
Also, Magneto escapes with the Wasp.
It’s like the aardvark says, you can get what you want and still not be happy.
Captain Marvel is holding the randomly anti-mutant ball for Hawkeye here and comments that none of the X-Men showed up to help stop Magneto.
Cap(tain America) tells her to belay that.
Captain America: “Let’s keep our minds on solving problems, not creating more!”
And they can’t even go after Magneto or rescue the Wasp right now because they have bigger problems: Galactus glowing with an awesome power and a massive storm that’s forming on Battleworld.
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July, 1984
TEMPEST WITHOUT, CRISIS WITHIN!
The Beyonder has thrown in a nice stage hazard to keep things fresh in the form of a massive storm raging on Battleworld, with lighting that shatters mountains and winds that could tear someone’s limbs clean off.
Or perhaps its the unintentional result of just slapping a planet together out of random stuff you have lying around. The climate must be shot to shit.
I like it either way. Secret Wars has a lot of very toyetic collisions between groups of characters so its nice when Battleworld itself manages to be an obstacle.
Over in his giant U-shaped fortress, Magneto finally unwraps Wasp from the ball of random metal crap he has her in.
He lets her wander around until she finds him so that he can be all casual and eating a space scone.
Magneto: “Do not bother trying to attack me, my dear! My person is magnetically shielded!”
Wasp: “Well, la-de-da!”
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Wasp: -blows up his space scone- “You think I have to strike at you directly to hurt you, monster?”
Hilarious spite, thy name is Janet van Dyne.
She also makes the point that magnetic shielding or no, she could bring this whole room down. Her being able to knock over a small house with her pew pew hasn’t stopped being true.
Magneto hastens to ask her not to do that because neither of them want to be out in the storm outside.
Besides, he just wants to talk! And flirt!
Magneto: “You are obviously a woman of intelligence and understanding as well as great beauty -- and I am not the monster you believe I am -- which is precisely what I wish to discuss!”
Wasp: “Oh? My intelligence, understanding and beauty or your non-monsterhood?”
Magneto: “Why... both!”
Back at the hero base (which is apparently ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF CHICAGO?? I want that playset), the storm has almost completely flooded the area, leaving just the top dome and such poking above the water.
The storm keeps dropping chunks of mountain at the base but Thor is standing on top, protecting it while grinning like a loon.
Captain Marvel even speculates that Thor could calm the storm but is whipping it up into a greater frenzy instead. Those storm gods, amirite?
Hawkeye is also standing by, with his explosive arrow, thinking to himself that if Thor fails, Hawkeye will totally save the day.
I don’t know whether that’s sad or endearing.
Mostly though he’s trying to distract himself from thinking about the new wife he left behind.
Cap, Reed, and Hulk are watching the villain base because apparently they do know where it is. The storm is keeping the villains in too but Cap figures they’ll pull one desperate attack as soon as the storm breaks.
They’ve already lost four of their dudes. Plus, Galactus isn’t a team player.
Spider-Man is just swinging around, enjoying how good for swinging the random technological pipes and tubes and whatsits are when he stumbles upon the X-Men having a secret meeting.
Professor X has decided, possibly on the basis of two (2) rude comments from Hawkeye and Captain Marvel, that the X-Men just don’t belong here and that they’d be better off going and teaming up with Magneto.
This... sure is a take.
Rogue comments that the Avengers don’t trust her because of that time she kicked their asses collectively. Which, hey, very possibly. They haven’t really had a thing to say about you though. They’ve mostly been grouchy about Magneto.
Which is kinda born out by the way he tried to blow up their base and definitely kidnapped the Wasp?? And is even now aggressively eating scones at her?
That’s the Magneto you guys want to go join because he’s more your people than the Fantastic Avengers and friends are?
You know, there’s a pattern I sometimes see with the X-Men where they loudly insist that the other superheroes don’t help them and don’t care about mutant stuff while at the same time doing shit like this.
“Should we get Reed Richards, smartest dick in the world to help with the legacy virus or the techno-organic virus Stryfe shot into Xavier? NAHHHH Beast can handle it.”
“Should we stick with the other superheroes or go hang with Magneto instead in a cool mutants only U-shaped fortress? Well, U is the coolest letter that isn’t X...”
If you squint, you can definitely see Krakoa all the way in the future.
Anyway, Spider-Man overheard all of this and goes ‘I’M TELLING!’
Wolverine tries to tell him that snitches get stitches but the thing is?
Spider-Man is ridiculous. He’s a ridiculously good combination of skills and powers which lets him make chumps out of entire groups at a time.
He’s embarrassed the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and now he’s about to embarrass the X-Men.
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After making them all feel foolish, Spider-Man gets away and goes to tell Reed what that doody-head Xavier said when Xavier uses his psychic powers to just wipe the entire encounter out of Spider-Man’s memory.
Yeah, it’s to cover their imminent blowing off but also? I don’t think he wants anyone else to find out how badly his X-Men just got stomped.
Psychics are too OP, I tell you what.
In fairness IN FAIRNESS, the X-Men kind of have the right to fuck right off if they wish. I don’t even know what it had to be in secret. In fact, doing it in secret is a massive dick move of its own for reasons.
What would the Fantastic Avengers have done if the X-Men had just said ‘hey we’re heading out’? Would they have put them in stasis tube jail? I doubt it.
Professor X made the decision to handle this the stupidest way for whatever reason. That scamp.
Speaking of Magneto, he’s over at the U-Lair turning down a partnership offer from DOOM. So, hey, he has standards.
Wasp has become less ‘i’ll blow up this room and your breakfast’ about him over the course of whatever the hell they discussed in their offscreen chat.
Magneto even starts to make out with her and Wasp is like ehhhhhhhhhh what the fuck why not.
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Why is this happening?
I guess he has a...................... magnetic personality?
Eh? Eh??
No, but seriously, I do have a theory that I heard someplace but it’ll have to wait.
What’s weird is that there’s a Marvel What If about some spinoff babies that come about if the heroes and villains got stuck on Battleworld and never managed to leave.
Wasp has a son with Human Torch. Which is pretty weird and comes from nowhere. I guess a lot can happen during a massive time skip. My point being though, its weird that they didn’t have a Wasp/Magneto baby instead given the weird chemistry they have here.
Meanwhile, over at DOOMBASE, DOOM has some women in giant tubes.
That’s So Doom.
Doctor Doom: “All is ready -- ! This alien technology, so rich, so subtle... so easily harnessed to serve my purpose... Energy, tapped from the raging tempest... And two mortal subjects who dare to gamble for power -- knowing that to lose is death, for truly, here I shall test the limits of power a human body can contain! With the throwing of a switch... so -- the die is cast! Hear me -- ! Power must be seized -- ! Crave it! Welcome it! Drink it in, despite the pain... or it will destroy you.”
And thus are Volcana and Titania created!
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Talk about lasting effects of Secret Wars! Titania is going to be around forever! Mostly annoying She-Hulk!
Where did Doom find two random women to give superpowers?
Denver, Colorado.
No, seriously.
That city chunk we saw as Battleworld formed? That’s Denver, Colorado, USA, EARTH.
Why isn’t there a miniseries or one-shot about a normal ass civilian from Denver having to deal with OH MY GOD WHERE DID EARTH GO?
I actually read an interesting thing re: this scene. It exists because Mattel asked Marvel to introduce some new female characters so Shooter wrote in these two and a third who I’ll get to when I do.
Mattel then promptly used none of these characters for the associated toyline.
The toyline, in fact, used none female characters at all. It made toys of characters who weren’t in the story but did not have a single female character.
So its very weird that they asked Marvel to introduce some but I’m not going to knock the results.
Doom introduces these two new characters to the other villains.
Hilariously, Absorbing Man guesses that Doctor Doom just made women from scratch. Because doesn’t it sound like something he could do?
Volcana and Molecule Man immediately hit it off, her being attracted to his sensitivity and him being attracted to... positive attention at all, I guess?
He muses that he could easily stop the storm outside, because molecules, but his therapist told him to let nature take its course. “Unless Doom asks me to!”
And Titania and Absorbing Man. They don’t hit it off. She either wants to hit him or hit that and its not clear and it might be both.
(Spoilers: Its both)
Titania: “You! Absorbing Man! You look like the toughest man here! Get up!”
Absorbing Man: “Whatcha got in mind?”
Titania: “I’m going to do anything I want to you! Everything I always wanted to do to everybody who used to be bigger and stronger than me! Maybe I’ll just play with you... or maybe I’ll make you eat dirt... or maybe...”
Absorbing Man: “Woman, if you got somethin’ to prove, prove it tomorrow against the guys we’re fightin’!”
Titania: “You’re backing down?”
Absorbing Man: “Nope! I just ain’t getting up! I got nothin’ to prove... to a dame!”
Would you believe that they become one of the healthiest and most stable romantic relationships in Marvel?
Speaking of weird relationships, back over at hero base, Thor goes and pops the lid on Enchanteress’ healing tube because he’s bored and wants to talk to a peer. A god peer.
Enchantress is at first more characteristically worried about what her face looks like after being She-Hulked.
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But she then creates a portal so she and Thor can go have a chat.
Later, it’s morning and Hulk has been too busy stressing over losing his Banner smarts to actually keep watch or wake up Cap for watch like he was supposed to.
So when the villains ram an airship into the hero base, the heroes are not at all prepared.
Titania hurls a giant slab of wall through the room the Terrific Three are sharing, breaking Johnny Torch’s arm and ribs and knocking out the other two. He manages to get himself and co out of danger by melting through the floor.
Meanwhile, She-Hulk is carrying a big heavy as she’s been doing since the previous night and is caught unaware by Volcana who blasts her off her feet and then collapses the room on top of her.
Doctor Octopus knocks out Captain Marvel who is in the hot springs dome but gets chased away by Hawkeye, claiming that long-range firepower is his weakness.
I’m stunned at the implication that Doc Ock is one of Spider-Man’s most dangerous foes but could be scared off by Hawkeye while Spider-Man could pretty easily drop Clint’s ass. There’s some rock-paper-scissors nonsense at play here.
Spider-Man and Iron Man are also taken unawares by Ultron but manage to hide under some rubble.
Hulk leaps into the fray at Molecule Man and Doom but Cap convinces him to fall back to a defensible position.
The villains reconvene with all the captured villains freed except Enchantress (since she fucked off to have a chat with Thor) and the heroes scattered and buried under various rubbles. How the fortunes of Secret War turn.
Sure would have been nice if the X-Men had been around to help or if they mentioned they wouldn’t be. Sure would have been.
Doom: “We have accomplished much here today! And to finish it, we shall level this place so that no stone remains on stone!”
No wonder Mattel didn’t make a playset of this base! Dammit Doom, you’re ruining the merchandising!
Follow @essential-avengers​ for more of Secret Wars! At this same pace! Its sustainable! This is fine! Like and reblog too!
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scripturiends · 4 years ago
Note
Do you think Kang Sol A got a failing grade?
If so, how do you think will it affect the story?
After watching episode 9, her grade piqued my curiosity the most. She looks defeated when she entered the court room.
Also,
do you think Kang Sol B & Seo Ji Ho will make a deal? She will help him in exchange with his word that he'll say that she really wrote the study in middle school.
did Yang Jong Hoon quit law school to be Jeon Ye Seul's lawyer?
Thank you for being generous on sharing your thoughts about law school. I really enjoy reading your opinions, musings and theories. I apologize if you find my questions too much but I can't stop thinking about law school now, especially that they only released a single episode this week ;(
Have a good day!
noo please don’t apologize i’m very happy to entertain questions like these, it means you guys value my opinion (´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) i also love hearing your thoughts, whether anonymous or not!! so thank you thank you. anyway, onto the questions:
#1: unfortunately, i do think kang sol a fails criminal code. in the final moments of episode 9, she walks in looking downcast, so that doesn’t look like a good sign to me. but i could be wrong. in fact, i would be very glad to be wrong. i want her to stay. but damn, jiho’s words to her really got me thinking about how “if she’s relieved about barely passing after studying so hard, she should consider giving up” (non-verbatim). i’m not saying he’s right (in fact, he’s absolutely wrong imo) but it could very well discourage sol a from coming back. but hey, if there’s one thing i know about sol a is that my girl is not a quitter. 
as for how it will affect the story onwards, well, that means she could dig deeper into dan’s case and we’ll get more of law student sol a in action as opposed to just law student sol a in theory. you know, not to go off on a tangent or anything, but sol a is actually incredibly smart, especially if the case is close to her heart. take, for example, joonhwi’s defamation case, joonhwi’s aunt’s case (the one where she framed him), the bad fama case, and now, yeseul’s case. she always finds a way to make the client innocent without making them compromise or settle. she just might take a little longer than the rest of them, but she always seems to get the job done, which is more than we can say about the students who go by the book, who are incredibly smart but haven’t been tangibly making any difference in actual cases. and maybe that kind of approach isn’t necessarily what they look for in law school (as we’ve seen with her weakness in memorization and her lack of background in the law to begin with), but it certainly shows that she’s more of a practical doer than anything else. 
in any case, if ever she flunks out, i hope she still comes back, even if it’s to repeat the year. hankuk law school just wouldn’t be the same without her. (let’s still keep our fingers crossed that she doesn’t have to. never have i wanted to be so wrong in my life, i tell you.)
#2: jiho did say that if sol b helps him out, then he’ll believe that she didn’t plagiarize. the risky part about writing that on paper is that if it does somehow get proven that sol b did plagiarize, not only will she be implicated, but so will jiho for lying in exchange for a favor, and professor yang for having a witness on the stand who was ‘bribed’. so jiho has a lot to think about before striking the deal with sol b - like everyone else, he would have to be very desperate first to agree to sol b’s terms. 
another reason i’m apprehensive about answering this question is that sol b and jiho aren’t like oil and water, they’re more like oil and oil. their personalities are so similar that it’s obvious they’ll clash, and one would not hesitate to leave the other in the dust the moment they stop being useful to them. so even if they “help” each other out, i wouldn’t be surprised if that falls flat on their face too. that’s just what happens when you pit two people with a lot of pent up anger against each other. 
#3: it’s possible that yang jonghoon quit so he could defend yeseul, yes. maybe he quit before he could get fired. but unfortunately, he has also made it clear to assemblyman ko that he had no plans on leaving. who knows, maybe he found a loophole to both keep his job and defend yeseul at the same time. but it would be very characteristic of yang jonghoon to leave a job where he wasn’t allowed to teach anyway in order to help a struggling student. either way, he’s keeping his unspoken promise to yeseul to protect her, making him, again, the best prof ever.  
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lovelahela · 4 years ago
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𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤  ↠  𝖎𝖙 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓  [day six, @it-lives-week​]
❛ the power is back, and it’s more powerful than ever. you must band together and defeat it once and for all... or die trying. ❜
n.b. i’m basing this off my ilitw mc taking jane’s place and everyone survived in both ilitw and ilb, so some plot points are interchangeable. plus, ilitw and ilb mcs’ characteristics are obviously interchangeable depending on how you played in your own playthroughs/how you have written them.
significant characters.
         ↠ (DETERMINANT) mc: it lives within main character [LI: determinant]. possible faces to choose from: caucasian, south asian, middle eastern, latina,  african. sexuality is determinant. nerve subject to change.
         ↠ (F) marisol reyes: it lives in the woods main character [LI: noah marshall]. filipina. bisexual. nerve subject to change.
         ↠ (F) harper vance: it lives beneath main character [LI: tom sato] african-american. pansexual. nerve is not subject to change if your mc survived ilb.
         ↠ (NB) jamie mcleod: it lives within side character [LI: mc or andy kang]. singaporean, irish. pansexual, demisexual. nerve subject to change.
         ↠ (F) sun-hee ‘sunny’ pong: it lives within side character [LI: mc or dan pierce]. south korean. bisexual. nerve subject to change.
         ↠ (M) okeyo ‘oak’ liao: it lives within side character [LI: mc or jocelyn wu]. kenyan, chinese. bisexual. nerve subject to change.
         ↠ (F) jocelyn wu. it lives in the woods + it lives within side character [LI: mc or okeyo liao]. pansexual. nerve is not subject to change.
romance.
         ↠ so i don’t know if this is gonna make sense but like in the game harvest moon, you can choose to/accidentally activate “heart events” that set your LI up with a different character, so i thought it would be a cool change for you to see an LI option end up with someone else if you don’t romance them. would probably be paywalled though, kind of like grace/aleister in endless summer.
         ↠ jaimie would not have intimate scenes until the second half of the book if mc has established a strong relationship with them.
plot points.
the plot isn’t complete, these are just some ideas i had in mind. i may change some or even all of them when i write my it lives 3 au.
          ↠ [this piece of information is not revealed until late into the story] noah ends up finding a ritual that allows him to bring marisol back, on the condition that he would have to give his soul up to the power after six months and take her place. 
         ↠ in the midst of arguing with his former westchester friend group after revealing his face to them to propose an alliance in order to put a stop to the power, they are interrupted by marisol entering the room, looking and wearing exactly the same as she had on homecoming night, dazed and confused.
         ↠ noah, having thought the ritual hadn’t worked, is just as shocked beyond belief as the rest of them. it is then concluded that marisol does not remember a single thing during her three years as jane’s replacement (though memories come back to her in bits and pieces through nightmares and flashbacks throughout the story), and believes it is still homecoming night and the last thing she remembers is speaking to jane. they do their best to ease her into the fact that 3 years have passed.
         ↠ the main character’s parents were members of the society prior to their death, but they were away for college during the events of it lives beneath. upon hearing of their deaths, they move temporarily to pine springs, and notice that something was off with the quaint town.
         ↠ they take it upon themselves to investigate further into this and later discover the society by following one of its few remaining members into a forest. they are kidnapped, then immediately recognized as the child of their highly esteemed comrades, so they then decide to go easier on them and explain everything about the cult and their parents’ place in it.
         ↠ they are interrupted when a group of strangers [it lives beneath main group] bust their operation and the chief of police ends up hauling off what they then believed to be the last remaining members of the society into jail. meanwhile, tom, imogen, danni, and harper reveal what they had left out about josephine vance and the power that once lived in the lake.
         ↠ the main character, harboring bitter anger towards their parents’ greed for the power and how it got them killed, is immediately motivated to put a stop to it, so they are introduced to connor green, whom tom knew was organizing a group to fight against the supernatural force. together, they move to a town they suspected contained it: northbury, oregon - which was equidistant from westchester and pine springs, both of which were an hour away. 
         ↠ the main character is introduced to the westchester group, including marisol and jocelyn; however, only connor, noah, jocelyn, dan, noah, and andy had decided to move to northbury. the rest decided to remain in their respective towns since they weren’t far away anyway. 
         ↠ in an attempt to blend in with the locals and gain information about the recent disappearances simultaneously, MC makes it their mission to get to know the most significant current residents of northbury that ava cunningham and parker shaw had pulled up information about: jamie mcleod (the younger sibling of one of the missing victims), lawrence khan (northbury’s chief of police), jiao-long liao (occult studies professor at northbury university), and sun-hee pong (a college student who had been caught trespassing on properties including the homes of the missing victims multiple times, and the daughter of one of the missing).
         ↠ upon their arrival, more people start to go missing, and the gang discover that northbury has had a much darker past than westchester and pine springs combined. disappearances date back decades, and the rates are alarmingly high for a town that appeared to be bustling with residents. a local conspiracy blog/forum exposes numerous reports of dead animals cut in a ritualistic/sacrificial manner, sightings of a dark humanoid figure wandering in the trees at night, and rumors of a secret underground cave full of occult symbols drawn with blood on the walls, dust-coated skeletons, and a myth surrounding an ancient monster that was offered sacrifices by its people unknowingly. 
         ↠ honestly this is all i have planned so far lmao but a few more things i had in mind were: (A) there could be a bad ending where they don’t defeat the power, meaning noah’s soul is claimed and he becomes the new redfield (B) if the power is defeated noah gets to stay alive and ends up with marisol, goes to culinary school, all that good stuff (C) i was thinking that even some characters without nerve could have multiple fates depending on how the story goes and who lives, like connor and jocelyn, and maybe it could be dependent on the nerve of others that way the stakes are higher and you’re more motivated to keep the nerve high. e.g. if MC’s nerve is low and they can’t complete a certain task that could save others, jocelyn ends up doing it instead and dies in the process.
so yeah this is mainly what i have in mind for an it lives 3 book! i hope PB change their mind one day and revisit it because it’s truly their best series.
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matt-eldritch · 5 years ago
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Mortal Kombat Akademy
In between my work on the 31 Days of Original Characters challenge, I've begun to revisit my plans for the big Mortal Kombat story I'd wanted to do for awhile; Mortal Kombat Akademy. I've done a lot of character busts with backstory info and I did a sort of "season one" plots but this is something I'm not really satisfied with anymore. I'm gonna spend the new year trying to readjust and rework the overall story and characters to something more workable. Here's a few odds and ends of what I've planned so far;
Story Outline
Shaolin Monks, Lui Kang and Kung Lao, are recruited into the Mortal Kombat Akademy, the secret fighting school located on the island paradise of international crimelord, Shang Tsung. But those who step foot on the island are subjected to terrors beyond comprehension once they learn the true purpose of the school; a training ground for the soldiers of an interdimensional tyrant who conquers by use of a fighting tournaments ordained by the gods themselves. But one of the gods, Raiden, is willing to give Earth a fighting chance by training as many chosen Earthlings as he can so they may finally defeat the forces of evil in the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Kinda bare bones but for plot synopsis go, it helps me sort of make a launching pad for the ideas. Like my original idea, the story is still primarily about Lui Kang and Kung Lao going to the school and meeting/befriending the typical heroes of the Mortal Kombat world, Raiden being their mentor and Shang Tsung being the big bad to overcome.
But the story ideas I had just don’t really cut it for me now. I feel as though I was sort of putting the cart before the horse by putting so much time making elaborate details instead of snowballing one idea to make a big bright idea. I’ve made some titles for them;
Start the Semester!
Tour the Akademy!
Prepare for the First Exams!
Bond Like Your Lives Depend On It!
Learn the Fatalities!
Wills and Testaments!
Survive the Detetionrealm!
Survive the First Round of Exams!
Survive the Second Round of Exams!
Survive the Last Round of Exams!
Party Your Asses Off!
Mortal Kombat Akademy V. The DC Universe: Dawn of Pain!
To give some context to them, I had a storyarc planned; Early on, Raiden would want the Earthrealm class (the class would have Kang, Lao, Johnny, Sonya, Jax, Stryker and Nightwolf) to be friends and allies in order to survive the matches and save the world. Easier said than done when so many personalities were clashing together. And once they learn about fatalities, the class goes through some mental anguish over having to kill or be killed, Kang being the only one vowing to never kill anyone, to the disbelief of everyone else. Things start looking up once the class starts to trust and respect one another and become stronger fighters.
But Kano, on the behalf of Goro’s Class (Mileena, Kitana, Jade, Baraka, Sheeva, Skarlet, Reptile, Tanya and Kano himself) frames Sonya and Johnny for a crime, leading to Professor Quan Chi to exile them to the “Detention Realm” where his goons, Drahmin and Moloch, deal out the punishments. My idea for them that they’d be bumbling and dim so Johnny and Sonya could escape them, bonding while trying to make it to the final exams. Everyone but Kang and Lao have been defeated and since Sonya and Johnny were late, it’d all be up to them to beat Goro. Once Goro beast Lao half to death, Kang faces his fears and manages to defeat Goro without killing him, but not without making him suffer for all the pain he’s caused.
The class’ reward for passing the exams is an-all expense paid vacation to Edenia, which is basically a hellhole built to Shao Kahn’s pleasure. Here, Kang and Kitana get some alone time to romantically connect to one another during the celebratory feast hosted by Kitana and Mileena’s parents, Shao Kahn and Sindel. But really, the feast is for the Kahns to asses the threat that Raiden’s students hold to their long term plans. And finally, the DCU story is just a fun breather where I have the mid-1990s versions of their heroes (Superman with a mullet, Batman Forever styled Batman and the two Wonder Women, Artemis and Diana, for example).
And after rereading what I had for plots, I noticed how little the Lin Keui featured into the stories since I designed a lot of them for the series. Should try to fix that somehow.
Overall Art Style
As I stated in previous MKA concept art, I based the art style on the look of Steven Universe. I still intend for the project to be written fanfiction, but I do wish to have some elements of it to be drawn by myself. Not a full adaptation but maybe a full page illustration of each chapter, along with the general character/environment sketches, or like the ending credits of The Mandalorian series.
But back to the art style, I wish to change it. I can’t really go further on the style of Steven Universe if this story is going to be about such heavy violence and gore. It wouldn’t really look right, might cross over into unintentional hilarity or into the uncanny valley. I’m looking at something like the artist One, the man behind One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 whose style is really unique, fast, sketchy and frenetic, all attributes I think will work well. I also love the anime aesthetic of the 1990s so that’s definitely a goal to achieve since I’m setting the story in 1995.
Story Ideas To Keep
* Koins: My idea for an in-canon reason for the koins you win in matches (at least in Mks 9-11, IDK how far back they go) to unlock Krypt stuff will be used as a way for the students to buy things like food, clothing and resurrections due to being killed by another student’s fatalities since its primarily a learning facility instead of a battlefield. Though if you’re broke, you’re not gonna be saved. Koins, like in the games, will be given for performing a fatality and a moral choice comes up when you think “do I do good and be paid less, or do something terrible but get more chances of being resurrected if I die?”
*Profiles: I’ve got to do some rewrites for the characters. Nothing too too major since I do like a lot of what I wrote, but its more to streamline it to fit in the new direction I’m doing. Like, having Sonya, Jax and Stryker being Hall Monitors, I don’t think something like that is gonna be part of my story since I’m trying to take it a tad more seriously. The idea of Detention Realm and having Dharmin and Moloch as lovable henchmen is still canon, as far as I’m concerned. Think the two mice henchmen from the film “Flushed Away”. And on a final note, the newly retconned origin for Sindel...that shit isn’t gonna be part of my story.
Overall, whatever backstories that’ll be changed will likely be on a case by case basis. No telling who or what will be changed right now, but I’ve now thought of some parts to start with.
Diversity and Inclusion
This one is probably gonna be one of the hardest to accomplish since I really want to make the series really diverse with body types, genders and sexuality, race, neurodiversity, that type of subject matter. Inclusion is really important to me, and I’m scared how I might screw it up like how Disney, JK Rowling, SNL, Simpsons, Big Mouth, Voltron so many more screw it all up since they all serve the needs of the capitalist, neoliberal status quo over the voices of the marginalised.
And with that, brings up some more challenges. Will I make so many diverse original characters that they take time away from the canon characters? Should I make more canon MK characters differently diverse?
I'm also planning on having the characters display prejudices and bigotries but I'm scared I'll go in too much of "Bright" territory, if you know what I mean.
Tackling Mature Content
I mean, it goes without saying that the series is going to be full of violence and gore since that’s basically in the DNA of Mortal Kombat in the first place. But there’s much more serious topics I want to try to write. Like the effects of abuse, queer rights, the above themes about diversity and inclusion, the seemingly never ending war and the ideas of the long defeat. Of course, my chapters will be marked with as clear as possible content warnings, those are important.
A Shared Universe
A month ago, I watched a video about Midway trying to recreate the success of Mortal Kombat into other fighting games. The video, “Remember when Midway tried to copy Mortal Kombat?” talked about three would-be franchises of Midway fighting games; Mace: The Dark Age, War Gods and Bio FREAKS. After watching the video and reading about the games, I think it’d be good for lore if they were integrated into my story. Mace and War Gods could be used as part of the backstory of the series. Like the idea of the Earthrealm Kombatants being the descendants of the characters of Mace and War Gods, maybe Raiden was involved with the later, I’m not sure. Bio FREAKS could be latter used if I go into a time travel story. Maybe a mix of the game and the story/characters of Mortal Kombat X. As for Midway’s other successful but overlooked franchise, Killer Instinct, that is probably going to be the most recurring element in the shared universe. UltraTech, the main villains of the series would be the people behind such things as Kano’s cyborg eye, the Lin Keui’s Cyber Initiative and being the rulers of Neo-Amerika in the Bio FREAKS timeline. I also wrote in the profiles of Nightwolf and Sub-Zero that the Killer Instinct universe is linked to my story (one of his divorced parents is dating one of the parents of KI’s Black Eagle and Thunder while Glacius was an alien that helped give Cryomancers their powers).
And on a side note, there is another Midway MK clone called Primal Rage, which I swear I had one of the toys based on it and saw a parody of it on an episode of Dexter’s Laboratory. Its pretty gruesome, its a bunch of savage Kaiju in a post-apocalyptic earth that resembles the stone age. Probably an alternate timeline/dimension if I use it in my series. Who knows, maybe elements of the worlds of Street Fighter and or God of War could make an appearance...
Writing the Damned Thing
Probably the absolute hardest part of this entire thing. I struggle with actually keeping attention to writing since I’m primarily a visual artist and it feels terrible to not even follow through on any idea I have and it just kinda sits and collects dust in my brain. If its sketching and rendering, I can do it. If its writing shit down, I just have executive dysfunction when it comes to it. I never know where to start writing it, how to continue writing it, how to finish it or how to put it all together cohesively.
I can’t do this without at least writing the complete first season, if I do it on a semi-regular basis, nothing is going to be done. Even like, less than a week of non-recurring writing is like a poison to me. I don’t know how, but if I make room for an hour or two of writing a day every day might help me get more prepared for longer writing.
In Conclusion
When will the first chapter be done? I don’t know. When will I start writing? Hopefully as soon as I can. I can try to post updates or work in progresses, but that’s still a pipe dream, in my honest opinion. But I want to make progress in 2020, I need to make a difference and to actually make this coming year worthwhile.
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boymeetsweevil · 6 years ago
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Another draft because FS is taking too long
Title: two wrongs don’t make a right (so what do two douchebags and a dweeb make?)
Douche/fuck boy Jimin and Jin, weirdo!OC
Jimin waits until the girl’s tiny frame disappears down the hallway in a blur of overly familiar stained sweats before turning to stare down a very sheepish looking Jin.
“You can’t tell anyone about this, got it?” He rakes a hand through his hair, mussing it and making him resemble a cockatoo.
“Dude, relax. I get it, you have a rep to maintain. Everyone ventures outside their type for a first time.”
Jin winces. He knows he’s known for being incredibly picky—only ever sleeping with 4.0 girls (the number referring to their maximum dress size and minimum GPA). Someone even did a story on it in the Hot Takes section of the school magazine. He’s still not sure if it’s a moment he should proud of.
“About that…” he trails off and tugs nervously at the throw blanket he hastily clothed himself with when Jimin burst into their shared living room only to catch him in a rather compromising position. With that girl of all people.
“What?”
“Itsnotthefirsttimeanditwontbethelast��
Jimin blinks slowly, trying to process the flurry of words and Jin’s ashamed tone. When what Jin said finally hits him, he grins darkly.
“Man, c’mon. Don’t joke like that about her, its not nice.”
“Jimin, I’m—,” Jin looks around the hallway suspiciously before dragging Jimin into the dorm and slamming the door shut. “I’m being serious, okay?” Jimin’s jaw drops and he begins to sputter.
“But…why her?”
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The first time Jimin encountered you was during a particularly late night in the stacks of the library last semester. The year was starting off hard and he was getting his ass kicked in one particular introductory psych class.
At around 1 in the morning, he had one more problem to finish on his take-home exam but was desperately stuck. He remembered seeing someone who he recognized from class sitting in the economics section. He thought it was odd initially. Usually no one sat there because the smell from the librarians’ bathroom often carried over. And no one wanted to study to the smell of coffee shits.
Taking a break, he grabbed his laptop and wandered around the stacks to find the classmate. When he found you, you were in the process of packing up, struggling to get your earphones into the headphone jack of your phone while also carrying a stack of periodicals and a burger from the campus grill, which happened to be leaking ketchup onto your already dingy tracksuit. He approached you carefully.
“Hey, you’re in Professor Kang’s class, right?”
“Huh?”
His voice startled you and you lost your precarious grip on your stuff. The poorly wrapped burger fell to the floor and bled a little onto your white converse. The periodicals fluttered down around your feet.
“Shit, sorry. Lemme help you,” he offered as he put his laptop down. You gasped from your spot already crouched on the ground.
“No, please, it’s really okay. Please, I’m fine, I don’t need—“
But he already had one printout from the stack in his hand and automatically turned it over. When Jimin looks back on the memory, he thinks that this may have been the biggest mistake he’s ever made in his life.
He would later find out after a nervous google search that the paper in his hand, and probably 80 percent of the papers on the ground, were called fursonas. While a handful might have been somewhat decent, most of them were of overly buff rabbits with bubble butts raised for the viewer or tigers fisting weeping, veiny dicks over pastel backgrounds. The one he held was of a duck, or something, with a weight lifter’s body with an obscene expression on its face while tentacles swarmed it from all angles. The implications of what might be happening in the picture made Jimin’s head hurt.
“Oh my god, what the fuck. What the fuck,” he whispered. He was so stunned that he let you rip the page from his hand.
“It’s called fur-centric hentai and its art,” you hissed. The line sounded mechanical and well-practiced if you asked Jimin. He watched you gather the rest of your belongings quickly, burger included, before leaving him crouched in the economics stacks.
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Jin snaps his fingers in front of Jimin’s zoned out face only to have him be brought back to reality with a look of slight disgust.
“What’s your problem, fix your face,” Jin snapped.
“I’m just trying to figure out why you chose her, of all people. You remember that story I told you about the Econ stacks. I was so scarred, I got a C on that test.”
“Pretty sure you got a C because you didn’t realize there was a second page of the homework.”
“Well, if she hadn’t thrown her weird animal dicks all over the place, I would have realized there was a back and finished the assignment”
Jin sniffs and drops the blanket he was wearing, before walking over to the kitchen to get a drink, naked as the day he was born. Jimin follows on autopilot.
“Maybe you should stop trying to yuck my yum,”Jin says over his shoulder.
“Oh my god, don’t say it like that. I’m just saying, man. She’s weird. And gross. And more importantly not.Your. Type.” He enunciates each word with a poke to Jin’s bare back while he gets them some beers.
“You think I don’t fucking know that? That’s why I keep it discrete. Why do you think I told you not to come home every Tuesday and Thursday at until after 8:30?”
“You said you had lab.”
“How the hell could I do a lab in our apartment?”
“It…It could happen.”
“I’m a poetry major,” Jin pinches the bridge of his nose at his roommate’s stupidity, “Damnit Jimin.”
Jimin purses his lips when he realizes he might be even dumber than he thought.
“Wait a second, you’ve had lab,” he makes giant air quote gestures, “for, what, 2 months now? You’ve just been fucking her this whole time?”
There’s a beat of silence as Jin takes another swig from his beer. “Yeah,” he finally says. The matter of fact air of his response makes something glitch in Jimin’s brain.
“What the hell, dude? That’s a lot of repeat service. Does she have something on you? Is that why you’re doing this? Did you break an expensive-ass vase or something?” Jimin stops to think, his mind running wild with possibilities. “Holy shit, are you being pimped out?”
“No. God, would you just shut up?” Jin sighs quietly. “I’m sleeping with her so much because she’s the best I’ve ever had.”
Jimin takes a step back at the defeated sincerity in Jin’s tone.
“How? What about that time with that other girl--what was her name?” Jimin runs a hand through his hair trying to remember any name of one of many the girls Jin has had a fling with. “Oh! Irene or something? What about her?”
“I mean, Irene was fine. She gave pretty good head. But last Thursday I thought I came harder than I’ve ever come in my entire life.”
“You ‘thought’?”
Jin looks up wistfully somewhere behind Jimin’s head at the memory. “Well then she came over the following Tuesday and rocked my shit,” he smirks. “And then that was the hardest I’ve ever come in my life.”
“So she gives good head. Who cares? There’s plenty of girls on campus who give good head and also don’t draw furry porn for a living and wash their damn sweatpants.”
“You don’t understand, dude. It’s not just the head. It’s the head, and the handjobs, and the pussy. It’s everything.”
Jimin raises his eyebrows incredulously. “The pussy is better than the handjobs?” He has to try hard not to look impressed. Meanwhile Jin is smilng, almost relieved now that the secret is out and he can talk openly about the mindblowing sex he’d been having.
“The first time she jerked me off, I passed out immediately after I came and woke up late to the class the next afternoon.”
Jimin narrows his eyes but motions with a hand for Jin to continue.
“The first time she blew me I couldn’t even walk afterward.”
“Wait...was that the day you told me you thought you had a sprained ankle? The one that healed after 24 hours?”
“Yep.”
The smug tone and the second stupid lie make Jimin want to rip his hair out. “Why do you lie so much,” he whispered, pain in his voice.
“I wasn’t lying, I really thought I had a sprained ankle.”
“From a blowjob?”
“That’s what I said.”
“What about the, uh, the pussy,” Jimin asks after realizing the FBI probably won’t come through the doors and snipe him for talking about vagina.
“The one time she let me hit it raw, I cried.,” Jin says, absolutely beaming.
“Oh, come on. You can’t be serious.”
“I am, though. I think she was gonna let me do it again today.” Jin closes his eyes and smiles softly while Jimin looks on, unamused.
“So? What happened today? She underperform or something?” There’s a hint of jealousy and a lot of curiosity in his tone, but Jimin would deny it if anyone asked him.
“No, asswipe. She got spooked because you showed up when you weren’t supposed to.”
“Well, sorry for ruining your lies,” Jimin snaps, cracking open his own beer.
“You think this is a joke?” Jin shoves Jimin in the chest roughly. “We didn’t get to finish because of you. Now I have to jerk off with my own hand. That’s pathetic”
“And what were you doing before you met her? Listen to yourself, she’s making you crazy. No one is that good in bed.”
Jin stomps over to the couch and settles down before turning and looking at Jimin over the backboard.
“You know what? You go and sleep with her 3--no--4 times. And if she doesn’t completely fry your brain, I’ll pay for any and all of your takeout for the next month. But If she does, you gotta switch mattresses with me and not come by the dorm until after 10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from then on.”
“Dude, gross I don’t want your sex soaked mattress. It’s the same as yours anyway. Minus the ten gallons of old jizz on it.”
“No, it’s not. You have that, like, Tempurpedic thing.”
“True,” Jimin nods thoughtfully, “But don’t you think it would be weird if the roommate of the guy she was fucking started trying to get in her pants? Also, I could just lie and say she didn’t do it for me. Then you’d be forced to pay for my food and—Hold on. If she’s so good, why are you so willing to pawn her off to me?”
“Why do you ask so many stupid questions? First of all, she’s not mine just because I’m sleeping with her. I’m just telling you to go see if she’ll let you. I mean, there’s no guarantee. She barely even gave me a shot.”
“She barely gave you a shot? But you’re, like, the campus prince”, more air quotes, “How did this even happen?”
“Well, to make a long story short, we were both high at her sorority and I’d heard rumors about her from Wonho, so I went to…talk to her in her room.”
“Wonho is Wonho, though. He’d fuck anyone if the weed was good.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken, my friend. He has a diverse and sophisticated palate. He knows what he’s talking about when it comes to weed and sex. Once I took him up on his suggestion and she said yes, I never looked back,” Jin says with a dreamy voice.
Jimin watches the back of Jin’s head loll on the sofa. When a soft sigh emerges from where the older man is sitting, Jimin recoils and runs out of the kitchen, away from the couch.
“Are you jerking off right now? Dude. Not cool.”
“Get the fuck out, then. It’s Thursday, which means I’m getting off by 7:30pm and I don’t give a rat’s ass who’s here when it happens.”
“Fine,” Jimin huffs and reluctantly stuffs his feet back into his sneakers where they lie by the door. “I hope your dick chafes.”
Jin purposefully releases another, louder moan and Jimin runs out of the apartment.
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“I’ll have an order of the half crispy, half spicy and a large coke. Thanks,” Jimin says to the clerk at the grill before checking his phone for the 8th time in the hour.
8:01 Jimin - Are you done yet?
             (8:10 read by Jin)
8:11 Jin - yeah but round two starts soon so
8:11 Jin - *middle finger emoji*
Jimin quickly shuts down his messenger app and opens up Flappy Bird while he sits at a table and waits for his order number to be called.
“Stupid asshole and his stupid dick, kicking me out of the stupid apartment. Fuck you, dickhead,” Jimin mutters to himself.
“What did you just say?” 
Jimin’s head whips up at the infantile voice coming from the seat across from him. Jeon Jungkook is sitting at his table, eating a veggie burger. Who the hell orders a veggie burger from a chicken place?
“Were you talking to me,” Jungkook asks again, pushing his bulky glasses up with a finger.
“Jeon, why would I be talking to you? A better question is why the hell are you talking to me?
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cle1024 · 6 years ago
Text
abstracted | lmh
member: lee minho 
genre: angst 
summary: art was his passion, his vivid daydreams, yet it was also the thing that caused him the most pain. when he saw art personified, so rare and exquisite, it only hurt more.  painter!au 
warnings: mentions of anxiety 
a/n: i intended for this to have a different ending but it became way too long for me to write the full ending, so it’s kind of rushed towards the end. i also apologise if the formatting is really bad, i’m still figuring out how to post on a functioning blog lmao
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His life was a paradox. Paint splattered his skin, the secondary hues mixing in with his moles and scars. The canvas suffered more so, fat strokes painted in shapes he couldn’t quite identify. By the time he had completed the work the syndrome had already gone too far, clouding his vision with dizziness and a thick smog that only seemed to disappear when he ripped his eyes from the canvas he spent hours hunched over. It was a punishing gift, and a hugely ironic tragedy. 
A painter, Lee Minho, who couldn’t look his own art in the face. Waves would crash on his body, pinning him to sharp rocks until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Only then would he drag himself away, wheezing out of his studio as he clutched the doorframe. It had many names, though most commonly Stendhal syndrome. He never truly understood what it entailed, but from what he had experienced it was nothing good. There were parts of the diagnosis he had cut out, his eleven year old mind figuring his older self could fill in the gaps - he was wrong. The doctor had mentioned it was psychosomatic, would cause him physical and emotional anxiety, dizziness, fainting, maybe hallucinations if it was particularly bad. They were selective symptoms, in the fact they would only occur when he viewed art. No one was quite sure how it happened or what it meant, just that it had originated in the 19th-century with French author Marie-Henri Beyle. Some thought it was poetic, some thought it was bizarre, Minho tried not to think about it. 
 A deep sigh left his defined lips as his hand came up to wipe his forehead. It was only transitioning to spring, yet the heat had already picked up dramatically. Sweat tickled at his hairline, threatening to spill down his forehead in river streams. All he wanted was some water, a fan, anything to cool him down. Instead he stood in front of an incomplete canvas, the light breeze from the window doing nothing to calm his rising body temperature. He could distinctly make out half of a face, oddly familiar in its features and dimensions, but still no masterpiece. At first, he resented all forms of art. How dare such beauty bring him such immense pain, so much panic and suffering. It wasn’t until he tried picking up his own paintbrush that he realised how freeing it was. His hatred soon transformed into appreciation, which then upgraded to motivation. In Minho’s warped reality, a hard time breathing and remaining conscience while viewing his art was rewarding, as it proved to him he’d made a masterpiece. If that didn’t happen, then he’d hang the painting up in his house and try again. Three out of forty works remained in his house, the rest being shipped off to independent collectors, friends or family. Not once did the thought of his art being in a gallery strike him. Nothing about his style was traditional, nor was he. The top layer of strokes shook with overwhelming emotion, some having large lines out of place from where he’d collapsed in the final moments of painting. Yet in his eyes, there was something perfect about them. The way they shook so meticulously - such a beautiful contradiction. His hand reached for the damp cloth hanging from the waist of his shorts, touching it to his forehead as he closed his eyes in momentary bliss. When he was looking for the best room for his studio, the one with the most sunlight seemed like a good idea. Perfect lighting for almost all hours of the day, never a need to adjust his easel to reflect such light. He hadn’t considered the lack of fans and air conditioning in the room that would surely make him suffer during the warm weeks spring and summer. But it was okay, he was used to suffering. 
 Your eyes drifted absentmindedly, taking in the full lecture hall. A 10:00am lecture, yet you could barely keep your eyes open. The eyelids would weigh heavily on you momentarily in the hopes of making you crumble under the pressure of exhaustion. Everything had been building up lately - you had design tasks due left and right, and you still had to haul ass to the Art Theory lectures you were expected to do, despite not having art as your main course. A sigh forced its way up your throat at the thought. Every night it became harder to sleep. You could practically feel the bags under your eyes sinking as each hour passed under the moonlight, but nothing changed. Of course you’d tried sleeping pills, three different kinds in all honesty, yet nothing could defeat the heavy weight of anxiety that kept you up at night. There were too many questions inside your head: what will my design be? How many materials will I need? Who should be my model? Why do I still drink coffee when it just makes me crash in the middle of class? It was exhausting, tiring enough to make you rest your head on the table for a second. Your laptop was open in front of you, a fresh word document open and waiting for you to type some notes about the lecture you begrudgingly attended. But your hands never met the keyboard. They remained in your lap as you kept your head down throughout the lecture, fading in and out of sleep as your professor droned on about the theoretical concepts of art. Line, shape, colour, what good were they to you? Art wasn’t your major, you shouldn’t have cared. Key word: shouldn’t. You still cared, far too much evidently, as you woke up and came to the realisation that you missed an entire lecture. You cursed yourself repetitiously, how could you fall asleep like that? You probably missed important information for the exam! You bunched your hair in your fist. You were truly and utterly screwed. 
On the opposite side of the hall, Minho had sat with his back against the wall, half-focusing on the lecture and half-searching for a new art inspiration. He tended to get bored of subjects easily, so painting the same people he saw everyday was utterly dissatisfying. Perhaps the curve of the professors bald head, or the glow of the rectangular laptop, or the sunlit person sleeping through the lecture. Minho’s eyes darted back to their figure to confirm what he had thought so absentmindedly. There, in plain sight, someone had the audacity to sleep through Professor Kang’s numbing lecture. He smiled slightly to himself, what a reckless maniac; I love it. The sun filtered through the window gently to form an angelic glow around their head. He had a clear view of their face, forme with delicate and peaceful eyes, yet sharp cheekbones and distinct lips. Something about them was so perfect, as if they had been hand sculpted by the gods, hours spent meticulously crafting every last feature. They were truly a masterpiece - Minho’s smile dropped. Oh no, his vision began to cloud, the pressure around his neck tightened and he found himself struggling to breathe. Get out, get out, get out, get out. He packed his things in a daze, based purely off of muscle memory. His sight was stripped from him and if he wasn’t quick enough then his breath would be too. Clumsily, he stumbled out of the lecture theatre, muttering profuse apologies until he had left the suffocating area. Go home, go to your studio, get the fuck out of here. Something wasn’t right, but it simultaneously felt as if everything had fallen into place. All of his painting life, Minho had searched for the muse that would bring him to his knees in agony, reflect the very distress his paintings caused him. Now, as he speed-walked back to his home, he was convinced he had found that in the mysterious person at the back of the lecture hall. Inspiration was a vital part of his work, his hobby, his future career, but at what cost did he owe? Part of him was conflicted. Shall he fall to his knees, burn under your gaze without a second thought? Or shall he hide in the shadows, paint around the panic and become breathless from his imitation of life? No matter which choice he went with, Minho would still suffer. Life truly liked to do that to him. 
 Minho panted slightly, his movements getting more erratic as the colours melted together. Yellows trickled into browns trickled into whites, yet in all the chaos he still managed to highlight beauty. His vision was getting spotty, rarely moving his eyes from the canvas even if it meant dipping his paintbrush in the wrong colour - he could find ways around that, but letting himself lose the momentum he built up was something he simply could not compromise. Line after line, shape by shape, the detail slowly filled in as he recreated the image in the lecture theatre. The one that had him wheezing all the way home, clutching at his dry chest as he ran and silently prayed his legs wouldn’t collapse under him. His sharp eyebrow furrowed in concentration, the light tickling of his bangs going unnoticed. Stay awake, just a little longer. He urged himself, pleading with life to be on his side for once. Frantic, maniacal movements spurred him on at this point, his eyes darting to different sections of the page where he could add something new. More detail on the shirt, more lighting on the hair, quickly, just a little more. With a finally stroke of his smallest paintbrush, he allowed himself to step back heavily. He haphazardly threw his palette on the stool beside him, hoping his paintbrush landed in the cup of water before his vision went out completely and he collapsed. It was truly a scene, one that would baffle yet inspire anyone who walked in on it. A palette placed perfectly on a stool, right next to a paint-tainted cup of water with numerous brushes poking from it, all diagonal to the man laying on the floor unconscious. His eyebrows were furrowed, hair blowing slightly as the breeze trickled in, light blue shirt unstained despite his vigorous work. His work, almost photograph like, good enough to bring anyone to the same state as he. A simple scene, yet a devastating impact. Someone sleeping on a table, opened laptop and sunlight threading through their hair. It was an accurate representation of the life of the student, yet it was captured so surreal. Not a stroke was out of place, no shaky final layers or misplaced colours in moments of intense emotion. Everything was perfect, just as Minho had always hoped. Something had changed in that one painting - it had proved to him that he could work through shaky hands and spotty visions, still producing paintings that could be mistaken as photographs. When Minho’s eyes eventually fluttered open, only to be met with the image of you sleeping across from him, he truly thought he’d lost his mind. He recalled the painting, but this wasn’t about the painting. You weren’t in the painting anymore; instead, you were lying beneath the canvas in front of him. Minho’s dark orbs rolled back into his head as he fell backwards once more, I suppose I’ve truly lost my mind. 
 “It’s been awhile since you came in for a checkup,” the crinkled man smiled from behind his glasses, gesturing for the patient to sit in the plastic chair across from him, “so, what seems to be the problem?” Minho rubbed his hands together slightly, eyes darting to the side as he went over his pre-planned explanation. 
“Uh, I was painting the other day, and I passed out. But, when I woke up the painting was-like-alive,” Minho blinked rapidly before continuing, “the… thing, I painted was in front of me when I woke up. It-it wasn’t in the painting anymore, it was mimicking the painting in front of me.” 
The panic began to rise in his chest as he awaited a response from the doctor. The older man had sat there, nodding every few seconds to indicate his understanding of what Minho was saying, but just because he understood didn’t mean he had an answer. He adjusted his glasses before unclasping his hands, “it seems that you had a particularly vicious episode, this time including hallucinations. Minho, I really wish I could do more, but we just don’t know enough about it. The best advice I could give is to find an anchor of some sorts,” he gestured with his hands, “you know, something that can just ground you in that moment.” Minho nodded softly despite his dissatisfaction. They don’t know enough about it, even after two centuries have passed. 
 The paintbrush lingered over the canvas, tickling the material with saturated hues of blue to mirror the Spring sky. Flowers had quickly bloomed, cold weather had been temporarily eradicated, tranquility whistled through the trees and along the crystal clear water of ponds. Though Minho could not be at peace, even if he tried. As his colours blended together in a dance of dark and light, he allowed his mind to be captivated by the sight - directly ignoring the doctor’s advice to “find an anchor”. This artwork wasn’t for the purpose of bettering himself, it was rather to experiment on how far he could push it. How much of his mind had he truly lost? White paint arched into the blue background as Minho delicately stroked the canvas, watching his work form intently. Something about it was soothing to watch, but caused him such stress and anguish. What an awful paradox. The black dots started to stipple their way into the clouds, darkening the sky into a thunderstorm. Minho panicked - he wasn’t done yet. Frantic hands reached for the purple-stained paintbrush, swiftly striking the canvas with dark slaps of the colour. Petal after petal, stroke after stroke, Minho created a new landscape through blurred vision and shaking hands. His lungs begged for air, releasing wheezes and gasps from Minho’s throat. He couldn’t breathe, not yet, not until he was complete. The painting was a simple still-image, mirroring the purple Bellflower that sat in a crystal vase by his window. Light twinkled in the fragile possession, framing the flower in an angelic glow. It was a simple image that caused much harm to Minho, making him stumble over his feet and straight to his knees, paintbrush and palette still in hand. Unconsciousness beat him stiffly, but at least the painting was complete. Thirty minutes later, his eyes fluttered open as a hefty weight fell on his head. The painting stood across from him, no change in its contents. Nothing out of the painting, nothing replicating its contents. There was no hallucination, everything stayed the same. Minho pushed himself into a sitting position, mouth open slightly as the wind blew outside. Now he understood why doctors didn’t understand how to help people with the illness, he couldn’t even make sense of his own symptoms. 
 Your head rested on your palm, pushing your cheek upwards as you attempted to keep yourself awake. In your head you whispered thank you’s to whatever higher power made sure your teacher did a theoretical lecture today, you didn’t think you could stay attentive enough to avoid sewing something wrong or stabbing yourself with the needle. Although you certainly enjoyed sewing, the possibility of spilling your own blood on your work wasn’t appealing - sure, the symbolism of ‘blood, sweat and tears’ becoming a reality sounded artistic, but blood stains were harder to remove than you had expected. Your eyes focused on the digital clock stationary behind the professor, only ten minutes left. In your mind, you pleaded for no assigned work - no extra reading or online theoretical tests. At the moment, you had a major work for your practical due. An entire fashion collection, birthed out of your colourful imagination in dark shades of soft fabrics, velvet that would hug the skin of your model. If you even had a model. With a heavy sigh, you packed away your belongings into the leather shoulder bag beside you. 
Minho checked the time on his phone as he strolled through the campus, absentmindedly calculating whether he should bother catching the bus or running home. Majority of the time, the bus was late enough for Minho to walk home before it even arrived, though he was never sure why. The route it traveled wasn’t typically congested on a Wednesday afternoon. Lowering his phone to the pocket of his jeans, he allowed his eyes to raise across the campus. An exploration of the blue sky, old brown brick buildings and cobblestone path began in his mind. He drifted, allowing himself to imagine painting such a scenery, wondering whether the shades of brown would blend as easily as he would like. Though his fantasy was cut short, sliced through with a sharp and unexpected knife. His footsteps halted as he watched. Again, the sleeping person from the lecture, fell into his line of sight. With open eyes he could clearly distinguish pigmented skin from deep-sunken eye bags, it was no wonder they slept through that lecture. In the two times Minho had observed them, the light had managed to cascade down on them to provide a heavenly glow. Perhaps it was a message from the beyond, singling this person out as the muse he’d always searched for, longingly. Then, it started. Blurry, the buildings shifted, and Minho felt himself moving without thinking. There was no time to catch the bus. 
 He lay still, head tilted slightly to the left as an arm rested on his upper abdomen. The painting was once again replicatory, vividly so. To the point where any passerby would question how you could print a photo onto a canvas, only to then become aware of the unconscious artist who lay across from his work. His work. It was a large portrait of you - that nameless, sleepy person - as you moved through the campus. Surroundings blurred, colours melted together to convey your speed, but there was a distinct fixation on you. Every feature mirrored to perfect, even the attention to your eye bags. Minho had only glanced for twenty seconds, yet he had managed to perfectly replicate the glance hours later. With heavy eyelids and a bruise forming on the back of his head, Minho lifted himself into a seating position, rubbing his eyes. As he focused on his surroundings, his eyes widened and he jumped back in shock at the sight ahead of him. The painting, a blurred background of brown buildings and greenery. That was all. In front of him, you stood. Side-on, the exact direction of the paintings, mimicking his work as he woke. If he reached out and touched you, surely you’d disappear, evaporate as a figment of his imagination. But, you seemed so real. Just as you did in his painting, only this time you weren’t a two-dimensional subject on a canvas. You were a physical, life-sized artwork come to life - almost like a sculpture, but less obvious. Minho allowed unconsciousness to tug his hair backwards and into the realm of darkness. He had no answers to his questions, nor did he have an understanding of what was happening, but he had already made the decision that avoiding you - a random student at the same university as him - was the best option. 
 It was successful to say the least. Not that you noticed, but Minho stopped looking at you for inspiration. In fact, he didn’t paint much at all anymore. There was a period after his discovery where he tried, even without seeing your face prior. Yet his pink sky ended up having your face blended into the hues, the city scape had you looking out a window, and the bowl of fruit had a hand reaching in with an identical dainty ring on. Subconsciously, you became the focus of all of his work, and it scared him to no end. Certainly more than the first time he passed out or panicked while seeing art. So he had temporarily retired his paintbrush and freshly woven canvases, opting instead for the limitless control of the sculpting medium. Clay gave him more control than painting. With painting, it was an out of body experience. There are no thoughts, only movement and creation. But he has a conscious thought process while shaping clay, making note of which areas to push which way. His temporary retirement from painting extended to longer than anyone could have expected. One week turned into month, turned into three months, then into six, then to where he was now. Eight months without stepping into his studio or analysing his environment as if it were an incomplete painting. Eight months closer to his practical assessment.  
The concern about Minho’s artwork had grown, only in his professor, though. His art wasn’t something he indulged in with friends or family, it was more an off-handed gift under the guise of “spring cleaning”, even in the middle of autumn. Though his professor had somehow figured out his work. He could sense the passion in every painting, and the rate at which Minho produced them impressed him to no end. So when Minho seemingly gave up on the medium, he obviously found it concerning, “Minho, a word?” Minho shoved his hands in his hoodie as he approached the professor, raising his eyebrows confusedly, “you’re not in any trouble if that’s your concern,” it wasn’t, “I just wondered why you’d given up on painting so suddenly.” Minho grew tense - that question was his concern. 
“Oh-uh, I-I’m just not feeling it anymore, I guess.” 
“You guess, or you know?” The professor raised his eyebrows as Minho silently cursed himself for his revealing slip up, “Minho, you’re an incredibly talented painter. Whatever has put you off painting needs to leave your mind, just let yourself be guided by the paintbrush. I expect to see it for your major work,” the younger male nodded softly before leaving the room. With a sigh, he began the walk to the bus stop. Although he hated late buses, he didn’t want to go back home. Something in him didn’t want to be confronted with the closed door to his studio. He didn’t want to unleash his talents again, as strange as it was. Though when he made it home, yellow coated paintbrush hovering over the canvas with the intention of letting the paint guide him, nothing happened. No emotion overwhelmed him, there was no exiting of his soul as passion took over. He just stood there, blank faced as he stared at the blank canvas. Then the questions came to him: I wonder how sleepy student is doing. Is their hair any different? Do they still sleep through Art Theory lectures? Are they still the inspiration I need? He couldn’t paint without inspiration, and you’d unknowingly become his muse. Neither of you knew it, you’d never even made eye contact before, let alone spoke. Minho let out a huff as he slammed the paintbrush on the stool beside him, golden toxicities spilling onto the wooden material, certain to stain if he didn’t clean it up fast enough. He didn’t. Instead, he turned his back on his paintings, the bare canvas and fresh paint. All he did was turn around and walk through the door. 
 Minho tried his best to approach you, running over ways to start conversation in his head, but as soon as you even glanced in his direction - not necessarily at him - it became far too hard to breathe. Pitiful, slightly. Pathetic, certainly. In his utopia, you would be the anchor to ground him, the sense of tranquility to calm his flurry of emotions brought on by messy paint and beautified canvases. Clearly, you were not. You were a paradox. You brought so much inspiration to Minho, so many bursts of inspiration in the midst of lectures, enough for him to start frantically sketching you over his notes - which was certainly a mess, but so was he. Simultaneously, you made life so much more difficult for him. You gave him a muse for his major work, but you made it hard to get reference glances. All you did was make him dizzy, high on a perfect mix of elation and panic, before sending him crashing down as you disappeared from eyesight. You would never know about it - mainly because Minho would never be able to tell you, but also because he’d be too embarrassed to let anyone catch a glimpse. It was almost stalkerish of him. Only almost. The most he knew about you was your face, the way your hair framed it, the way the light brought out the colours that tinted you, the way you slept through lectures or typed notes one letter every half-a-second. No name, no major, nothing. That didn’t stop the concern growing in him as every time he saw you your eye bags were darker than the last. He would never have the strength to ask about it. 
 You still appeared in front of him when he woke up, sometimes he could even poke you gently and feel smooth skin. There was never a heartbeat, there never would be. But, Minho was okay with that. Perhaps you wouldn’t be the anchor he wanted, perhaps there was no anchor. As long as he had the muse and passion to paint, that would be enough for him. 
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somuchkdrama · 7 years ago
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Hwayugi ep 11-12 (III)
But Who Kills Whomst?!
@dramajib: Oh also - Kristin, did you mention the mirrors waaaay earlier on in the show? Because I noticed them so much in these two episodes. It’s probably just some artistic license in direction but it was so obvious to me this week
@triangularlily: I might have I don't remember lol but I did notice that too
@rocknghorss: so do either of you think Ma Wang is right about the Oh Gong/Sam Jang issue?
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dramajib: That Oh Gong is stringing her along?
rocknghorss: Yupo
dramajib: Hells nah is my vote. He is so smitten.
rocknghorss: lol agreed.  But the show is making me worried!!  He's smitten but how smitten is he??
dramajib: Like he may try to trick the situation into working for both of them, but if he can't, he's ready to drop. BUT if I understood correctly, the bracelet hurts him when he refuses to do what Samjang tells him to, correct?
rocknghorss: Yup you got it
dramajib: So I'm really hoping this doesn't happen, but it’s still a kdrama so it might - she could find out about this one-of-us-kills-the-other thing, insist he kill her, he might refuse to do it, and then die that way? Although I still think the most likely outcome is that he sacrifices himself in order to stop this apocalypse and then they all get reincarnated
triangularlily: I won't be convinced of the romance until the bracelet comes off, I really wish they would remove it sooner rather than later but at this point I don't think they will
dramajib: Lol I love that we all have such different opinions about this at the moment. The show really improved at the halfway mark, I hope it keeps it up in the second half
triangularlily: I'm definitely enjoying it more
rocknghorss: Me as well.  It feels like we’re finally getting to the heart of the story and there’s less of the “baddy of the week” type stuff going on.  And I actually really like that they haven’t removed the bracelet because it makes Oh Gong still this sort of unknown element.  On the one hand, Ma Wang keeps talking about Oh Gong as if he’s this terrible person, but then Oh Gong is showing his kinder/sweeter side with every episode. So which face is the real one?  
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dramajib: Well... They also have this weird (but adorable) friendship where they refuse to admit they care about each other, so he could just be saying that for appearances sake?
rocknghorss: Perhaps so!
Is a Rose Still a Rose?
dramajib: But speaking of baddies... 
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You know how they kept referring to Professor Kang as having the potential to become a king? And then this shaman ghost shows up who used to be the king's shaman? I mean I really don't understand this rose petals thing that's happening, but I assume it's all related somehow?
rocknghorss: Yeah, I guess it has to be or else why do all the foreshadowing?  But like, if evil!BuJa makes the Professor a king then is he the final bad guy that Sam Jang will defeat? and maybe if Oh Gong is being mind controlled by the rose petals then he’ll working for the bad guy that Sam Jang has to take down :(
triangularlily:  Yeah I don't understand what the shaman’s goal is.  I mean she wants to be Sam Jang or something? And the king thing?
rocknghorss: Why isn’t there an emoji for “confused shrug”?  Because I’m also lost about the whole shaman-wants-to-be-Sam Jang thing.  Does the shaman just want a living body?  Or is it because Sam Jang has special powers?  Hopefully they’ll explain next episode.
triangularlily: I'm assuming because of the special powers but maybe also because she wants oh gong? Like he is powerful so I'm thinking that's why she wants to control him?? Idk
dramajib: I don't even have any theories to put forward about shaman BuJa. Except that I'm once again impressed by the actress.
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saturnsummer · 3 years ago
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flutter and kicks
notes: from lay's @/__ryubeom tweet + a pregnant solhwi anon ask. in headcanon form since it's more spontaneous! 
hello tumblr fam! i know, it’s been long... but ficfest and all has kept me kinda busy. a little different this time! a headcanon after a long time, since it’s more fun and easy on the eyes!
extra notes: drumstick reference to hospital playlist episode 4! a little reference to @scripturiends twitter au “dynasty” at the end. have fun! as usual, grammar mistakes by me!
attorney sol and prosecutor joon hwi have been married for a couple years, now well into their early thirties.
sol and joon hwi always take walks in the parks and wondered what it would be like if they had their own.
sol was initially hesitant, with her experience of broken families and having no dad figure. what makes her think her child could grow up in a loving family, if she didn't have one she could be a role model or look up to?
but joon hwi had it worse, having been an orphan from young, and raised by his uncle, his cousins, aunts and relatives ostracising him. yet, he still believed in the happy family he always wanted with sol.
he dreamt of kissing his kids good morning, sending them to school before going to work and sending his wife to work. on nights, they would work on their kid's homework together in fun ways and tuck them in bed after bedtime stories. they would spend the weekends at parks, meeting with seungjae's kid, and the children of their friends.
sol came round eventually, seeing how joon hwi never stopped believing. this time, it was different. joon hwi is not her father, nor is he her step father. he is han joon hwi, the man that saved her lives multiple times. han joon hwi, the man that stood by her when lee man ho was her biggest threat to her family. han joon hwi, the man who loves her, despite being a klutz in school.
he is han joon hwi, the man that loves her for every imperfection and perfection she has.
sol and joon hwi start trying for a baby, which is especially timely when kang sol's mom asks when is she gonna have a grandchild to hold and byeol pipes up saying she would love to have a brother as opposed to sister. (15 years with sisters have made her wonder what it would be to have a little baby boy in the house instead.)
a few weeks after their first time trying passes and sol has been feeling more tired. she's been busy with case after case at kang and park, so she doesn't think much.
only when she misses her period, she freezes. as stressed as she was, even in law school, she has never missed her period or was late. with shaky breaths, she wonders at the slightest chance of having a little life grow in her, as her hand unconsciously travels to her stomach.
sol is excited, but nervous at the thought that maybe nine to ten months later, she would have a child she can call her own in her arms.
over the weekend, sol raised this to joon hwi. joon hwi stops everything and even though he is beyond excited, he stays calm looking at how nervous sol is. together, they go out to get two pregnancy tests, where sol takes it.
the ten minutes of waiting were a complete torture for sol, as she paces back and forth.
"sol, stop pacing. you're going to burn a hole in our floor."
"joon! what- what if it really happens? i'm not ready! how are we ready? you just started your career in the prosecutor office, and i'm buried under cases! i can barely take care of my mom and byeol and myself, what about the child? oh no, what if i'm a bad mom?"
"honey, sit down. look, we'll get through this together okay? no one is ever ready for their first kid. remember seungjae-hyung? he freaked out the day juyeon-noona went into labour and he's a doctor! it's okay, just calm down, alright? do you want warm water?"
when the timer rings, they look at both the tests, showing the double lines indicating a positive test.
sol was pregnant. sol was going to be a mother. joon hwi was going to be a father. their family was starting.
shaking, sol finally let her emotions hit as her tears fall. she was so caught up worrying about herself, life, her work, family; she hadn't had time to process her own feelings on her own. she wanted the feeling of joy of holding her child. she wanted to know what it was like to share a mother's bond with a child.
joon hwi, looking at his wife, only hugged her as she teared up in happiness. his dream of having a family is finally coming. even better, his best friend, his biggest cheerleader, was next to him.
"what are you crying about? you should be happy!"
"j-joon h-hwi ah... we're going to be parents.."
but their journey was far from over. they booked an appointment with juyeon and made juyeon stay quiet about this. seeing the ultrasound and hearing the heartbeats of their unborn child was enough to move sol to another round of sobs and joon hwi held his wife's hand while the tears ran down his face. together, they smiled, knowing that a life was born and growing.
all could have been hidden, but seungjae walked in that moment, asking if his wife wanted to join for lunch. sol and joon hwi were prepared to lie, but having a printed ultrasound scan in their hands, and the fact that they were in juyeon's clinic, a OB-GYN clinic, confirmed suspicions.
"juyeonnie, do you want to go for— joon...hwi?"
"oppa..."
"ah, congratulations sol. congratulations joon hwi." seungjae only smiled looking at the best people he knew become parents. he recognised the pride in joonhwi's eyes, the same eyes he had when juyeon told him they were expecting.
the new parents smiled at their brotherly figure as they wished them a good lunch.
but out from the corner, yeseul spotted joonhwi and sol as she walked into the clinic and she locked eyes with sol. sol slams the door shut and drags joon hwi back and groans, letting a defeated whine.
"sol-ah, what's wrong?"
"yeseul is here! she's probably here for a regular check up, the one she told me about last month!"
and with that, their phones started beeping with countless notifications.
yeseul could put two and two together, especially when it wasn't just sol, but joon hwi in the clinic as well. she texted her boyfriend, bokgi, who spat out his soup when he was eating with yebeom, who sent a string of messages to the group chat.
when sol opens the door again, yeseul only gives a sheepish smile.
"yeseul ah..." sol sighs and joon hwi only smiles, too happy to hide this secret.
"sorry unnie, i can't miss the moment. congrats unnie, oppa! hello, seungjae-oppa, juyeon-unnie!"
"thank you, yeseul. we'll see you next week, as usual?"
behind them, seungjae grumpily argues with his wife.
"why are my ex-classmates seeing you more than i do? i literally work, like, five blocks down at the police station! they live all over seoul!"
"honey, let me see yeseul first, okay? then let's go get lunch. i heard they are serving drumsticks in the canteen today.”
-----
pregnancy wasn't easy for sol. she insisted on working, despite attorney park's orders to take on lesser cases in court. sol couldn't find it in her heart to reject her clients.
yeseul, working closer to sol, would lunch with her to make sure she eats for the sake of her baby. joon hwi did his best to join, despite sol's arguments to not bother and that she can care for herself.
her morning sickness was bad, and she would wake up giddy and nauseous. many times, joon hwi wanted to call jiho to ask him to cover him, but sol would not let him do it. she'll pull herself together and go to work, and promise to take work lightly.
on days she couldn't get out of bed and she was too tired, her mother would come over and cook her nutritious soups, stock their fridge with vitamins and supplements and tonics for sol.
sol's cravings were also odd. she was never one to like sweets, but she found herself craving sugary cakes, cookies and pastries. joon hwi made it a point to stock their cabinets with cookies and buy a cake whenever he could for his wife.
joon hwi was honestly the best husband anyone could ask for. he helped to tidy the house, clean the house while sol was resting. he made soups and tucked sol in bed on her down days.
sol felt bad that she was being cared for and doing nothing in return, but joon hwi would always remind her that she was already doing the most important job, which is to literally grow their kid inside her.
many nights before bed, they would sit together and their hands would rest on her stomach, as they whisper sweet things to their to-be child.
when sol first felt the kick of her child with joon, they smiled so wide, all exhaustion from reports and arguments in their offices were gone. all that mattered was their child responding.
yeseul was beyond excited, as she helped sol with getting furniture and clothes. the study group came together to help them set up a new cot in their small apartment, as the ladies sat while looking at the men, fixing a cot with much difficulty.
aunty yeseul was the first to buy a stuffed bunny for her unborn child, and sol b, even though she was usually cold, offered to babysit in the future.
eventually, attorney park made sol work at home instead of going to the office. she argued that professor kim eunsook was able to teach while pregnant, but attorney park only said "yang jonghoon's orders" and it was enough to shut her up from any complaints.
of course, professor yang. the only person attorney park really is afraid of and listens to.
when they found out that sol was having a boy, joon hwi was lost in thoughts, wondering if he will grow to be like himself. but sol only placed a hand over his and gave a comforting smile.
"remember what you said at the beginning? whatever it is, he will be of the next generation. from him, it will be different."
they then would discuss how they wanted joon hwi's dimples, sol's twinkling eyes and cheekbones and joon hwi's charming smile.
closer to the due date, jiho stepped in to cover for joon hwi as he started to work half days, afraid of leaving his wife at home. sol, now heavily pregnant, really only commuted to the bed from the bathroom and then to the table, where she would spend most of her time reading or doing something relaxing.
yeseul made sol put her on speed dial with sol b, just in case, and so they would be the first to know too.
the morning came when sol woke up to a wet bed and shook joon hwi awake when the contractions kicked in. joon hwi snapped out, grabbed their hospital bag and guided sol to the car where both of them spent the next day in the hospital as sol went through nine hours of labour pains, and another two hours pushing her baby boy.
joon hwi never left once, standing by her side and holding her hand as she pushed her baby out, wiping away the sweat from her face.
when the time came for him to be held in his mother's arms, sol only smiled, knowing that as tough as the past ten months of working, no caffeine and staying up late nights was, it was all worth it for the little life in her arms.
as his son's hand grabbed onto joon hwi's finger, joon hwi made a promise to love this child unconditionally, to guide him in the right direction and bring him up well. sol was right. from him onwards, it will be different.
welcome to the world, seungjun.
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omniversalobservations · 7 years ago
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Thor Vol. 1 No. 372 (October 1986)
The Time Variance Authority (or TVA) is a fictional organization, a group of timeline monitors appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in Thor vol. 1 #372 (October 1986). Created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema, the TVA originally paid homage to long-time Marvel writer/editor, and continuity expert, Mark Gruenwald: the TVA staff were all clones of Gruenwald.
The TVA claims responsibility for monitoring the multiverse and can prune timelines if they're deemed too dangerous to exist. They also take action to prevent other beings from altering the past or future. They were first seen, allowing Justice Peace, a lawman from the future, to travel to the 20th century in order to stop the killer Zaniac. Peace is able to succeed in his mission thanks to the assistance of Thor.
Despite their claims, the TVA's influence over time is not absolute. The scope of their influence is bordered by Alioth in the distant past as well as Kang the Conqueror, the Delubric Consortium, and Revelation at different eras throughout the timescape. There have also been numerous incidents of time travel or reality tampering where the TVA has failed to interfere.
At the End of Time, the last Director of the TVA creates the Time Keepers, the last three beings who exist in the remaining timeline in the universe; however this process also ends up creating the Time Twisters, a trio of beings who imperiled all realities until stopped by Thor and other members of the Avengers.
The TVA are next seen utilizing the law-firm She-Hulk works for on several instances. Jurors for cases are plucked from time soon before they actually die, this is so the effects on the time-stream are minimal. This also establishes the tendencies for time-travelers to go through genetic scrambling, also to minimize the effect on the time-stream. Notably, the scrambling tends to cause similar looks among differing males who undergo the process. A defendant who is found guilty in one of these trials is executed with a weapon called the Retroactive Cannon, or Ret Can, which erases the victim, deleting their existence from the universe by undoing their birth and entire history. She-Hulk herself was handed this harsh sentence, but it was overturned as a reward when she helped defeat the villain Clockwise. (This weapon is an obvious reference to a retroactive continuity, or "retcon", a practice used by storytellers to add previously unknown material to an event in a previous story.)
Employees Lower-ranked TVA employees, called chronomonitors, are literally faceless. They are created artificially, using "quantum technology" - the moment a new reality appears, a new faceless agent is created to monitor it, along with the necessary equipment (a personal computer-like device, plus a desk and a chair) to do so.
Cloned managers resemble Mark Gruenwald — and, later, Tom DeFalco — both longtime Marvel Comics writers. The most frequent recurring managers are Mr. Alternity and Mobius M. Mobius, both Gruenwald clones.
On occasion, the TVA hires mercenaries for use in the more dangerous missions, such as Justice Peace and Death's Head. These mercenaries often lose limbs, which the TVA replaces with clunky robotic parts (it is not known why; presumably the TVA would have access to far better technology). Another example of their seemingly anachronistic technology is a time machine shaped like an old locomotive. Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble, a pastiche of Doctor Who, is a renegade from the TVA.
Source: Wikipedia
In Squadron Supreme: New World Order ... the exact quote is as follows: "Most disturbingly, Mister Alternity has passed beyond this omniverse, and our fates are now written by new hands yet to prove as worthy."
I admit that when I first read this sentence I couldn't think of any DC character that he could be representing but then it occurred to me that maybe it was referring to something else. Is it possible that Mister Alternity was meant to be the Other-Earth version of the late, great Mark Gruenwald? Everything seems to fit.
1) The death of a real person would be "more disturbing" than anything that could happen to a comic book character. 2) "Passed beyond" sounds like "passed away," an euphemism for someone having died. 3) As the writer who did the most with the Squadron Supreme, Mark Gruenwald truly controlled their fates and now that he's dead their fates are being written by new hands (ie. Len Kaminski). 4) Mark Gruenwald wrote articles for a fanzine entitled "Omniverse: The Journal of Fictional Reality" that he created and/or edited and that was published by Alternity Enterprise of New York. 5) the last-page dedication for SS:NWO reads "For Mark Gruenwald: Storyteller, trickster, teacher, friend." To me, it seems fitting that the tribute of a character inspired by Mr. Gruenwald should appear in the story which finally ends the storyline he began with the Squadron Supreme Limited Series and continued in the Graphic Novel and their appearances in QUASAR."
[...]
Mysterium received an entry in issue 7 of 2006's All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.  It does indeed confirm Joseph as Mysterium's middle name, and also makes the Gruenwald-as-Alternity reading even clearer by refering to Master Alternity as the "omniversal patron saint of marvels."  In mid-2006, nearing the 10th anniversary of Gruenwald's death, Tom Brevoort began refering to the Gru as the "patron saint of Marvel" in the text pages of some Marvel comics.
Source: Marvel Unofficial Appendix
(image via Comics Alliance)
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thebibliomancer · 7 years ago
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Essential Avengers: Avengers #135: The Torch is Passed!
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May, 1975
Another really great title and another lying cover!
But, again. Flashback mode doesn’t give many options. At least there are some angry faces. Iron Man is so angry that he’s looking away in disgust. Or maybe he just has terrible peripheral vision in that helmet and can’t figure out what everyone else is looking at.
So last time: Hoo boy. Kang attacked multiple times to try to marry the Celestial Madonna who turned out to be Mantis. Defeating him in Limbo, the Avengers then went on a far out time journey to uncover the origins of Mantis and Vision, which involved the robot Human Torch dying multiple times and space intreegue.
When last we left Vision, 1967 Ultron-5 had just KRUMP’d through the wall.
This time: Ultron-5 continues to KRUMP.
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Unfortunately, not the dance move.
Apparently the Mad Thinker pointed Ultron towards the Human Torch’s dead deceased corpse. To contextualize this moment in time, the Human Torch’s memorial service was the previous year but Reed Richards kept his ‘respectful gesture’ of leaving the Human Torch to molder in an abandoned underground laboratory a secret.
When Ultron is the one thinking that’s a ‘respectful gesture’ you know you goofed up.
Anyway, Ultron is not alone with a corpse. Because the Mad Thinker’s solitude maddened living computer Quasimodo is also in the area.
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Quasimodo begs Ultron to give him a human form. Ultron responds ‘fuck no.’ Because then Quasimodo would be a robot and Ultron doesn’t want the competition.
He also decides to narrate his entire backstory to Quasimodo. Because he’s going to erase this memory anyway and he loves hearing himself talk.
You know most of it. Hank Pym built a crude robot based on his five seconds of research into non-man non-dragon Dragon Man.
Hank Pym was so bad at building robots that not only did he somehow create Ultron-1 so self-aware that it turned itself on before Hank ever activated him, Hank also built him too durable to crush and with lethal weapons equipped.
Hank Pym, how do you fuck up so badly? Pro-tip: Your first attempt at building a machine intelligence? Don’t give it its own means of locomotion and DON’T GIVE IT WEAPONS.
Anyway, Ultron-1 blasts Hank with a hypno-beam to make him forget this incident and abandon this lab.
With his existence now a secret to everyone, Ultron OH YEAHS through the wall in plain sight of several civilians and flees.
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Clearly no one saw that or reported it.
He returns a week later to find the lab as abandoned as he hoped. Using the solitude of the abandoned lab, Ultron repaired the lab equipment so he could use it to rebuild and upgrade himself.
And only six days ago, Ultron finished his upgrade into Ultron-5, “the most perfect example of a robot in all the world!”
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To again contextualize this into a time frame, this was right after the fight against the Super-Adaptoid. Hank and Jan walk by the house/lab but Hank refuses to go inside, the hypnosis still holding.
Having perfectly upgraded himself to a perfect existence, Ultron decides that his perfect murder plan will require the acquisition of an android. So he went to hunt down the Mad Thinker to ‘borrow’ one of his.
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So wait. Where does the new Masters of Evil fit into this? This would seem to imply that he acquired Vision first so did he then always expect the new Masters of Evil to fail?
He sure seemed peeved at the time that his plan failed.
Anyway. Mad Thinker initially avers that he needs all his androids in his latest most doomed scheme to destroy the Fantastic Four. But since he calculates with his mad thinkering that Ultron will attack in 3.8 seconds if he’s not appeased, he asks if Ultron will accept an old, busted android.
Ultron would actually be good with that. He was planning to do a complete overhaul anyway so the more primitive the better.
So Mad Thinker offers him the original Human Torch. “He was more trouble to me than he was worth!”
And then the Mad Thinker realizes he’s been talking to a robot and gives Ultron the oddest look but also gives him directions to that old, abandoned lab.
Thus ends Ultron’s tale. Which I just realized was a flashback inside of a time-travel-assisted flashback. You are bad at your job, Space Phantom disguised as a staff.
Quasimodo asks why Ultron wants an android and Ultron says its because he wants a son!
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Which is funny because we’ve seen how Ultron treated Vision. ‘You don’t need a name, you are only meant to obey without thinking!’ Although, there have been human parents as bad.
Quasimodo offers to be Ultron’s son but Ultron blasts him with the hypno-beam to erase this whole conversation, grabs the Torch, and skedaddles.
Because he just heard an incoming noise. And seconds after Ultron has vacated, the Silver Surfer busts into the lab, having been drawn here by Quasimodo’s extreme angst (from Fantastic Four Special #5).
Geez, this is a busy lab.
But now it is time to check in on Team Rest of the Avengers now. When last we left them, they finished the Mantis Origin Journey and saw the beginnings of the Kree empire and the sad fate of the Cotati. And at the end of it, they were transported back to the Eternal Garden of the Priests of Pama where the Avengers had buried the Swordsman, based on a weird gut feeling that Mantis had.
A gut feeling about where to bury Swordsman, I mean.
Ghost Swordsman repeats that today will see THE COMING OF THE CELESTIAL MADONNA! Or maybe we went back a little to repeat that scene.
Mantis demands that Libra, as her self-proclaimed father, explain all this. Libra says its not his right but then a spaceship happens.
Specifically Moondragon.
In previous issues, she responded to the Avengers’ call for Captain Marvel based on a weird gut feeling (a lot of that going around), went to Avengers Mansion, got her shit kicked by possibly possessed Scarlet Witch, and then got back on her spaceship to head to Vietnam to find the Avengers.
And here she is!
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Ghost Swordsman asks Moondragon to explain her origin (oh my god origin overdose!) and Moondragon decides okay spoopy ghost man, I trust you.
THANOS!
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Is what led her to encounter the Avengers in the past. You remember the Thanos War? I hope so, I’m not explaining it again.
But Thanos also is her tragic backstory. While scouting Earth, he blasted a random automobile because it may have spotted his UFO.
Heather Douglas survived the attack and staggered out of the wreckage to be found by Mentor, ruler of Titan. Who had followed Thanos to Earth to find out what he was up to.
Heather, probably a bit loopy from the experience, assumed Mentor was an angel and begged him to take her to heaven.
So he took her to Titan. And had her placed within the Shao-Lom Monastery, where she learned the full knowledge of body and soul. And grew to be a priestess, an athlete, and a geneticist and took the title Moondragon.
This is actually a double origin. Because although Moondragon’s dad Arthur Douglas died in the crash, his spirit was used by Kronos to create Drax the Destroyer to combat Thanos.
Thanos really does create most of his own problems for himself.
Anyway, Mantis realizes that Moondragon’s backstory is in many respects identical to her own as relayed by Libra. Earth girl trained at an alien temple. Trained to master body and mind. Cool codename.
Back to Vision’s origin.
Six months have gone by, it is now the spring of 1968, and Ultron is getting fed up with this project.
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The Human Torch had burned himself out when he died. Ultron had thought that a rebuilding project would involve component and wires but he lacks the understanding to remold plastoid flesh. There are systems in the Human Torch that only the inventor could- oh. Duh.
So Ultron goes off to kidnap Professor Phineas T. Horton. It takes him two additional months to track down Horton, now making a living in Stamford, Connecticut (eesh!) as a television repairman.
And then he just tucks him under his arm and carries him off.
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Ultron re-introduces Horton to the Human Torch and demands he help repair him. But Horton refuses. Creating the Human Torch was his crowning achievement and also his downfall. After the Torch escaped, Horton was ostracized by scientific society for creating him and the Torch never, ever returned to his creator.
For three decades he’s been drinking to forget and relying on television repair to get by.
So please, don’t make him face his old shame now that he’s so, so old and so, so drunk.
BACKHAND.
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Ultron: “Now get to work, my decadent Gepetto -- get to work and give me a Pinocchio!”
Ultron’s favorite Disney movie is Pinocchio apparently.
So, held hostage, Horton was forced to perform to Ultron’s weird whims. Changing the Torch’s face so he has a completely new life, divorced of his time as a hero. OOO ALSO NEW SUPERPOWERS! Flame is old biz. Give him something that will be the new hotness. Oh but make his face scarlet! ISN’T THAT A HILARIOUS JOKE??
Ultron: “For though he will remain ignorant -- I shall be reminded of his past every time I look upon his flame-hued visage! It is the most subtle of jests professor! Why do you not laugh?”
Ultron and Kang both confirmed for shit senses of humor.
Finally, in September, 1968, the revamp to turn the Human Torch into the Vision is complete (making Vision a Virgo according to a caption).
But if you wanted to know what happened next, then you’d best hold your shorts. We have to check up on the others first.
At the Eternal Garden, Immortus shows up with a glass box and tells Iron Man they’ll learn what it is when the box opens. You sure are vague and smug, Immortus.
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And at Avengers Mansion, Jarvis relies on the ancient servant’s gambit of bringing tea and snacks to check up on Wanda. But he hears a malevolent male voice coming from Wanda’s room. But when he busts open the door, the room is dark and deserted.
Wanda, Agatha Harkness, and mysterious malevolent male mirth have vanished.
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Okay. back to Vision of September, 1968.
The revamped robot is activated but proclaims himself the Human Torch and angrily questions what happened to his body.
Horton could not bring himself to destroy the Torch’s memories, his soul, even as he was forced to rework his body. Even though he created the Torch for base money reasons, Horton poured his soul into him. Even after all the trouble the creation brought him, he loves his creation. The Human Torch is the high point of his time on Earth.
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Ultron is not pleased by this betrayal or with Horton’s “maudlin human nostalgia.” He runs off to grab weaponry he can use to restrain the rampaging Vision Torch but before he does, he eye blasts Horton.
The Vision Torch doesn’t notice this in the midst of his rampage but as he’s wondering if he’s gone to robot hell, he comes across the wounded Horton.
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Horton: “my torch, i was not a man for marriage -- yet i wanted an issue, creation, some part of me to live on! i thought of you -- and the thought grew into a dream -- and that dream almost grew into reality! i build you flawed -- just as i was flawed -- but i gave you life. tell me, was i... wrong?”
And then Horton died.
Which on a petty note means that Horton is too dead to show up and retcon this whole story in West Coast Avengers when John Byrne decides that the Vision will be more interesting if he walks back all his character development.
Anyway, he’s dead now. And Vision Torch marches out of the lab wondering what to do with his new life. But he’s definitely coming after Ultron for revenge!
Its not a long search. Ultron is waiting for him.
Ultron asserts that Vision Torch belongs to him. And then there’s a robot rumble.
But even though Vision Torch has added strength to compensate for his lost flame, Ultron outmatches him (especially since Vision Torch doesn’t know how to exploit his density powers). And while he was gone, he grabbed a laser gun that he uses to laser gun Vision Torch to death.
So back to the ol’ drawing board.
Of course, without Horton, its going to be hard to do a mind alteration procedure but Ultron just thought of a cool life hack. He’ll just use this random computer tape recording of Wonder Man’s brain as a model for his robot’s new mind!
Genius!
So far we’ve had Ultron have to borrow an android from the Mad Thinker because he didn’t want to build his own, had to kidnap the original creator because he couldn’t figure out how to revamp the Torch, and then had to use another brain because he couldn’t figure out how to program an artificial intelligence from scrap.
This is a sort of pattern with Ultron. Vision was based on Wonder Man’s brain. Jocasta from the Wasp’s. Alkhema was based on Mockingbird’s. And in Ultron Unlimited Ultron kidnaps Hank Pym, the Wasp, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, and the Grim Reaper to use their brain patterns to create a new race of robots.
But since it was later revealed that Ultron himself was based on Hank Pym’s brain patterns, it kind of makes sense. Ultron can’t create a mind from scratch because his mind wasn’t created from scratch.
Anyway, using already existing brain patterns is apparently a great life hack. Because the new mostly blank slate Vision is ready that same evening.
But we know how that turned out. He sent Vision against the Avengers. Vision turned on him and helped the Avengers destroy him. And now Vision knows he did not spring full blown from Ultron’s mind. His genesis was in one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen.
And since he learned his origin, now its time to return to Immortus.
But something goes wrong. Instead of finding himself back in Limbo or the Eternal Garden, Vision finds himself floating adrift in a black void. The Synchro-Staff vanished from his hands. Abandoned and no apparent way home.
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Next time: the fate of the Vision, nine surprise supervillains, and the moment of the Celestial Madona. Sounds like a lot for one issue, right?
Well, its another Giant-Size Avengers next time! Geez. That will be three Giant-Size issues for the Celestial Madonna Saga. In addition to eight regular-sized issues so far. Englehart really had a lot of story to tell.
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kngminho · 7 years ago
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          harry potter AU.           “you’re a wizard too?!”
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AU: they were just stories to make his best friend happy, but he didn’t expect them to become reality for the both of them
minho had always known he was a wizard. his father was one and so was his mother - at least he knew his father was because he heard his mother mention it one time. the two of them - minho and his mother - lived pretty ordinarily, away from the wizarding world. there were a few instances where she would take out her old wand to magic her way through something difficult, but other than that, minho knew nothing. 
however, his knowledge and curiosity of the wizarding world was growing when he found his mother’s old school books one time when he was home alone. they were all in a box, hidden in the attic, and it felt like a treasure to minho. 
one of them had a belt around it, and minho made the mistake of opening it, because then he realized it had eyes and a mouth and was attempting to eat him, that he had to attempt to shut it back up quickly. once that was out of the way, he found other books relating to magical beasts and the history of the magical world, and hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry, itself. along a few newspapers, with moving pictures, relating to one specific hero and an evil wizard who almost destroyed the world. he read those like his life depended on it, taking everything in and wishing he could see everything in person. 
“it’s okay, little bun. everything is going to be okay.” he said quietly as he hugged the smaller boy, trying to comfort him and stop him from crying. they were at their elementary school, sitting beneath one of the trees that was far from the other kids. jinwoo, his best friend, was once again getting made fun of and as much as minho wanted to fight those kids for him again, he figured that calming him down for now would be the better option. 
that’s when he got an idea he knew would be perfect to cheer him up, and smiled down at the boy hugging him. “little bun, do you want to hear stories about magic?” 
the younger looked at him in confusion as he wiped his tears away with his sleeve, and once minho saw him nod, he grinned. he figured it wouldn’t be a problem to tell him about the wizarding world and pretend like he just came up with it on the spot. that’s when minho told him stories about hogwarts, how the castle looked and the houses it contained. he told him about the wonderful and exciting history he’s read and the hero he found out about. 
“s-so... harry survived a-all of that?”
“yes, him and his friends defeated the dark lord, and hogwarts and all the wizards were safe again.”
“he sounds l-like an awesome wizard.”
now everyday, whenever minho and jinwoo hung outside of class or at home, minho would tell him a few tales and facts he knew about the wizarding world, pretending as if he was just building up a world they both wished to be in to make his friend happy. 
the thing is, minho knew he would be receiving his hogwarts letter one day soon, and as much as he was excited to go, he dreaded the day he’d have to tell jinwoo the truth and leave him. 
“a-are you telling me, th-that wizards use owls instead of c-cellphones?”
“yeah.” minho nodded with a chuckle. “i guess they can’t have both magic and technology, you know? besides, electronics don’t work in magical places.”
“so how do they travel w-without cars or planes?”
“they do use those, just rarely. but they usually have broomsticks or floo powder. they can use floo powder in their fireplaces to go somewhere else...” he trailed off, trying to remember. but he knew that to jinwoo, it looked like he was making up a new world for them to imagine. “oh! there’s apparition too, but that’s kinda dangerous, if i’m honest. some wizards lost some limbs.”
“oh. that’s... that’s k-kinda scary.” the younger laughed nervously. “i-i would love to try a broomstick, though! q-quidditch sounds exciting.”
“you would want to play it?”
“yeah. i-it sounds fun!”
“just don’t get hit by a bludger, little bun.” minho laughed. 
“do you think hogwarts could exist?” jinwoo asked one night when minho went over to sleep at his house. he sounded hopeful, and he looked very thoughtful as he stared at the ceiling.
as much as minho want to say that it very much does exist, and that everything he told him about magic is real, he could only respond with a “maybe. magic might not be real, but at least it does to us, right?”
jinwoo frowned and it was obvious that he was upset that the world wasn’t fair. “right.” he answered quietly before saying that he wanted to sleep.
minho felt guilty. he felt so damn guilty, because one day, very soon, he’s going to be gone and jinwoo is going to know why. he knew he shouldn’t have told him anything about magic, just for jinwoo’s sake, but he also loved to see how happy and giddy he would get over the subject. 
he felt even more guilty when he remembered it was the middle of summer and they were in july, meaning-
“hey, what’s this?” he heard jinwoo’s mother ask the next morning, aeri having brought in the mail while the two boys were sat around for breakfast, an envelop in her hand that looks like it was made from parchment paper. “jinny, it has your name on it.” 
minho watched in complete horror as jinwoo’s mother handed the younger boy the letter, recognizing the symbol on it immediately. jinwoo took a quick look at it and then immediately looked at minho with wide eyes. “d-did you... make this?”
“n-no...” minho answered quietly with a shake of his head, looking obviously just as confused.
jinwoo looked like he was doubting him as he shakingly opened the letter. “d-dear mr. cha. w-we are pleased to inform you th-that you have been... a-accepted at hogwarts sch-... school of witchcraft and... a-and wizardry.” the younger boy paused, looking around the table at the others with complete surprise. “p-please find enclosed a list of all necessary b-books and equipment. t-term begins on 1 s-september. a teacher from the school will come to your house soon to explain everything to you and your parents.” he read out loud, voice shaking. and once he was done, he looked up at his family again - minus his father who wasn’t there - then at minho. “i-is this a joke? are you-... are you doing this to make me feel better?”
“no, no! i swear- i...” he stammered, not even able to explain. jinwoo’s family was full of muggles, he knew that. and until now, he was very sure that jinwoo would be a muggle too. he, himself, was surprised too. “i- uh, g-give me a moment!” 
minho suddenly got up from the table, eyes following him as he ran out of the kitchen, to the front door and all the way across the street to his own house. that’s when he found it, his own letter. he opened it, quickly read through it and ran back to jinwoo’s house where suddenly, everyone was out by the front door, watching him in confusion. “jin! jin, listen to me.” he said, trying to catch his breath, a big smile on his face now. “everything i told you. everything about wizards and witches and- and hogwarts! it’s all real, believe me!” 
“... what?” 
“jinwoo, i’m serious, this is not a joke. i told you we were muggles, but i lied. my family is full of wizards... well, half of them! but, you- you’re a muggleborn wizard!” 
“what’s going on here?” jinwoo’s mother, aejung, asked, completely confused. “what’s- what’s a... muggle?” 
“non-magic folk.” minho answered quickly before looking at his best friend again. “listen, i’m- i’m going to prove it to you. i just- god, i wish i had a wand.” 
“minmin, are y-you lying to me?” jinwoo asked with a small frown, hands still clutching his letter.
“i would never lie to you.” minho was about to continue speaking when he suddenly heard another, unfamiliar voice.
“well, i see you have received your letter, mr. cha.” a woman spoke with a smile, and minho turned to look at her. she seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, dressed in clothes he definitely knew a witch would wear, and knew would look weird to jinwoo and his family. she moved past him in her purple robes, pushing her glasses up her nose before she offered her hand to shake jinwoo’s, and then his mother’s. 
"i’m sorry, but who’re you?” aejung asked once again through her confusion. she had never had a morning so weird before.
“kendra kirke, pleasure to meet you.” the witch smiled. “i am the charms professor at hogwarts, and i’ve been sent to explain everything to you and your son.” 
so then, the cha’s and minho spent their morning in the living room with professor kirke explaining everything to the family, all while minho sat there excitedly on the side as he watched his best friend’s face light up by the second. 
“of course, i will be helping you too, mr. kang. since your mother doesn’t seem to be in a... good condition.” kendra said to him, trying her best not to sound like she was speaking ill of his mother. minho just nodded understandingly, thanking her, because he really did appreciate her efforts.
diagon alley was even better than minho had imagined it. it was fascinating, and jinwoo seemed to be just as amazed as he was. a lot of the things minho told him, he was seeing them in person now and minho felt happy for the both of them.
they have just gotten jinwoo his books, and him and minho bought their robes and wands. minho didn’t need to buy any books, because he talked with his mother and she told him that he could have her old school books since they can’t afford new ones. they were now back at the leaky cauldron, another place minho was dying to see before they got here. they sat somewhere on the side on a table, aejung nervously looking around at her surrounding with aeri beside her. while jinwoo and minho were across from them, excitedly looking over the things they’ve bought for school. 
“i-i still can’t believe everything you’ve t-told me about magic is real.”
“see, i told you i would never lie to you.” he said, and saw jinwoo smile gratefully at him. minho smiled back at him, nudging his shoulder. “and tomorrow, we’re taking the train to hogwarts.” 
minho laughed when he saw jinwoo express his excitement by bouncing in his seat the entire time, and he was sure he had never felt so happy before. just a while ago, he was worried he was going to have to leave him behind, but now they were going to hogwarts together and minho couldn’t be anymore thankful for their fate.
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